Senior Catering Sales Manager

Marriott•Washington, DC

2d•$85,000 - $95,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Sr. Catering Sales Manager, under the leadership of the Director of Events, is responsible for driving the hotel's social event and wedding business while maximizing the event space to meet/exceed sales goals. This role requires a thorough knowledge of the practices and procedures of the catering, food & beverage and hospitality professions, effective communication skills, and the ability to negotiate, influence, and sell to professionals and/or prospective hotel guests. This role is responsible for selling between $4 and $6 million dollars annually. Candidates previously designated specifically as "senior" managers in Sales, Catering, and Convention Services are strongly preferred. All duties are performed in accordance with department policies, practices and procedures.

Requirements

Minimum of six (6) years of experience in Catering Sales, Weddings, Food and Beverage or related professional area.
Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university in Hotel and F&B Management, Hospitality, Catering/Event Sales and Marketing, or related major.
Four (4) years of leadership experience in Wedding/Event Management in a resort/hotel setting.
Combination of education and experience will be considered.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
Excellent time management skills.
Excellent customer service skills.
Excellent organizational, analytical and project management skills, with particular attention to quality and detail.
Financial and/or Business Management Skills.
Ability to work varied shifts, including weekends and holidays.
Ability to function well under pressure, manage multiple priorities, and meet established deadlines.
Must possess mature personal discretion and sound judgment.
Strong leadership abilities, sound judgment, superior problem solving and decision-making skills.
The ability to effectively lead managers.
Interpersonal skills to deal effectively with all business contacts.
Professional appearance and demeanor.

Nice To Haves

Candidates previously designated specifically as "senior" managers in Sales, Catering, and Convention Services are strongly preferred.
Experience with Hotel Sales & Catering computer systems preferred.

Responsibilities

Proactively pursues leads and existing accounts through sales calls, site inspections and written communication.
Actively pursues new business both locally and nationally, including visiting new offices.
Directs the performance of the entire Catering team to achieve sales and performance objectives.
Coordinates local marketing efforts to continue to secure business (attends trade shows, wedding shows, support marketing & social media campaigns, community events, and industry meetings against assigned markets.)
Utilizes hospitality expertise to develop and maintain knowledge of market trends, competition, and customers.
Establishes account information and calls on major contacts (personally or phone) and continually promotes the property.
Negotiates, sells and secures social event and wedding agreements with clients.
Prepares agreements, reports and other paperwork related to the catering department.
Ensures all social event and wedding agreements entered into with the clients are communicated to other departments to assure guest satisfaction.
Conducts tours of the hotel and banquet facilities; entertains qualified potential clients in accordance with company and property policies and procedures.
Maintains a professional image at all times, responds quickly to guest requests in a friendly manner, and follows up to ensure guest satisfaction.
Communicates regularly with key wedding planners, social contacts, vendors and other industry support to ensure contract fulfillment of events.
Maximizes use of appropriate and available hotel space to generate food and beverage revenues.
Utilizes creative skills to provide innovative set-ups, menus, tasting facilitation and functions for groups.
Drives customer/guest loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer/guest experience.
Partners with clients through planning and execution phases of function and with the assistance of the Catering/Wedding Assistant Manager, manages f&b selection and function details in order to ensure a seamless and exceptional guest experience resulting in complete satisfaction and repeat business.
Provides accurate and concise information to all departments (includes: Banquet Event Orders, Resumes and Internal Communications, Maintains proper documentation changes and special requests).
Collaborates and develops an effective communication and information system with all departments to disseminate details of upcoming weddings and social events, discuss operations and event execution in order to support the ability to anticipate issues, quickly evaluate alternatives and decide on a plan of action.
Reviews event bills for accuracy.
Conducts post-event evaluations in order to determine how future events could be improved.
Exercise discretion and independent judgment when evaluating new programs, new services and new ideas.
Stay abreast of property goals in order to create, support and present departmental goals to executive leadership.
Continues to learn and be on the forefront of new technology for the hotel industry.
Create ways to further enrich the guest experience by continuously reviewing, implementing and refining procedures to ensure every opportunity to offer extraordinary guest experiences while maintaining a culture of smiles, retention of luxury standards.
Proactively seek guest feedback and liaise with other departments when opportunities present themselves ensuring a seamless and elevated guest experience.
Manage guest requests and own all complaints; resolve issues immediately and follow up to ensure the guest’s satisfaction.
Develop collaborative relationships and synergy with all support departments such as Convention Sales & Services, Facilities, Security, Front Services, Front Office, F&B, and Executive Offices.
Foster a management team that possesses and delivers on key strategies of guest service, team member relations, team cooperation, financial responsibility and asset management.
Complete performance evaluations for the Catering team.
Ensure all accounting, payroll and team member relations matters are handled in compliance with company policy.
Perform other functions as needed.