Reservations Manager

IHG•San Diego, CA

About The Position

The Reservations Manager serves as a key leader within the Revenue Management function, acting on behalf of the Director of Revenue Management and providing strategic oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Reservations and Communications teams. This role partners closely with the Director of Revenue Management to prepare and analyze weekly, monthly, and annual reports, while also leading departmental scheduling, talent development, hiring, coaching, performance management, and disciplinary actions as needed to drive operational excellence and team effectiveness.

Requirements

2+ years of experience in hotel front office/reservations, hotel operations, or commercial strategy with deep knowledge OPERA, Passkey, Delphi, concerto and planner reservation platforms.
Group reservations management experience with proven experience managing group room blocks, rooming lists, pick-up monitoring, cut-off dates, and attrition, including coordination with Sales and Convention Services.
Demonstrated success leading, coaching, and developing a reservations team, including scheduling, performance management, training, and accountability for results.
Hands-on experience partnering with Revenue Management to support forecasting, inventory control, demand management, and rate strategy implementation.
Proven ability to lead large-scale or multi-property projects from design through execution.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills across commercial and hotel organizations.
Ability to resolve competing priorities and drive alignment across global and regional teams.
Experience working closely with Sales, Front Office, Finance, and Operations to ensure seamless execution of group business and guest satisfaction.
Experience preparing, analyzing, and interpreting group pickup, forecast, wash, and performance reports to support decision-making and communicate trends to leadership.
Demonstrated ability to manage complex reservations issues, resolve escalated guest concerns, and balance service recovery with revenue protection.
Experience identifying inefficiencies, implementing process improvements, and enforcing standard operating procedures to improve accuracy and productivity.
Familiarity with internal controls, brand standards, and audit practices related to reservations, billing instructions, deposits, and data accuracy.
Experience in large full-service, resort, or convention hotels handling multiple groups and high reservation volumes
Strong presentation, communication, and relationship-building skills across all organizational levels.

Responsibilities

Implement and communicate revenue initiatives across hotels in partnership with global and regional commercial stakeholders.
Provide insights and feedback to global and regional revenue leadership to ensure continuous improvement of tools and programs.
Collaborate with cross-functional partners to resolve system, process, and operational issues.
Resolve complex group and transient reservation issues, guest escalations, and system discrepancies with a focus on guest satisfaction and revenue protection.
Conduct regular audits of group reservations to ensure data integrity, proper rate loading, and correct rooming lists.
Lead delivery of targeted revenue initiatives and improvement programs across assigned markets.
Create or use business intelligence and analytics from multiple sources
Includes forecasting (14-day forecast, monthly ROY cast, and annual planning budget)
Other key IHG measurement like rate efficiencies, pace & pickup, lead time, price elasticity, day of week, key segment, channel data, product class data, etc.
Monthly reporting including general market conditions, transient yield performance, market segment performance and OTA performance
Prepares and distributes weekly, monthly and annual reports, including but not limited to the following: Pickup Reports, Business mix report, Marketing Statistics, Call Conversion Reports, and marketing tracking Reports, etc.
Maximizes room revenue by enforcing the selling of correct room rates determined by the Director of Revenue Management, while balancing important individual, travel agent, and corporate relationships
Manage the daily activities of the reservations/Coordinators and group reservation process
Manage department associate engagement, scheduling, payroll, disciplinary, or other staffing/human resources-related actions in accordance with Company rules and policies. Alert management of potentially serious issues
Ensure all staff is properly trained on systems and service standards and have the tools and equipment needed to effectively carry out their job functions
Develop and maintain training plans and perform ongoing trainings for team members growth, development and department efficiencies
Partner with Revenue Management to evaluate group business impact on transient demand, availability, and pricing strategies.