Senior Group Sales Manager
15 hours ago
St. Louis
Position Summary A premier luxury hotel/resort organization is seeking an accomplished Senior Group Sales Manager to drive group revenue through strategic account development and proactive sales efforts within the Washington, D.C. and national meetings market. This is a remote sales position; however, the successful candidate must be based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and possess strong knowledge of the market along with established relationships within the corporate, association, government-related, and professional meetings community. The National Accounts Group Sales Manager will be responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of high-value national accounts, generating new group business, strengthening existing client relationships, and achieving established room-night and revenue goals. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated hunter and relationship builder with significant hotel group sales experience and a proven ability to develop business through proactive prospecting, networking, industry involvement, client entertainment, and strategic account management. Key Responsibilities National Account & Group Sales • Proactively solicit and secure group business from assigned national accounts, market segments, and geographic territories., • Develop and manage a portfolio of high-value corporate, association, government-related, and third-party accounts., • Achieve or exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual room-night and revenue goals., • Generate new business through proactive prospecting and strategic account development., • Manage the complete sales process from initial prospecting and qualification through proposal, negotiation, contracting, and turnover., • Respond strategically and promptly to RFPs and qualified group opportunities., • Negotiate guest room rates, meeting space, Food & Beverage commitments, concessions, and contractual terms., • Evaluate total account and group revenue potential when determining business value., • Maximize revenue through strategic upselling of guestrooms, meeting space, F&B, activities, and additional hotel/resort services., • Develop long-term relationships that generate repeat and multi-year business. Washington, D.C. Market Development • Maintain an active and highly visible presence within the Washington, D.C. meetings and hospitality community., • Develop relationships with:, • National associations, • Corporate meeting planners, • Government-related organizations, • Professional and trade associations, • Third-party meeting planners, • Meeting management companies, • Incentive houses, • Destination management companies, • Executive assistants, • Conference and convention planners, • National corporate accounts, • Conduct regular in-person sales calls throughout the D.C. metropolitan market., • Maintain a strong network of existing industry relationships while continuously developing new contacts., • Identify organizations with significant annual meeting and group travel potential., • Develop account strategies based on each organization's meeting patterns, budget cycles, decision makers, destinations, and future opportunities. Proactive Business Development • Maintain a strong emphasis on new account acquisition and proactive selling., • Research and identify high-potential national accounts and emerging market opportunities., • Conduct consistent telephone, email, social, and face-to-face prospecting., • Develop creative strategies to penetrate accounts currently producing for competitive hotels and resorts., • Establish relationships with key decision makers and influencers., • Re-engage dormant accounts and identify opportunities to increase share from existing clients., • Create individual account action plans for top prospects and strategic accounts., • Maintain an active pipeline capable of supporting both short- and long-term revenue goals. Association & Corporate Group Business • Develop significant group business within the association and corporate segments., • Understand association meeting cycles, annual conferences, board meetings, executive retreats, educational programs, and incentive opportunities., • Develop relationships with association executives and meeting professionals throughout the Washington, D.C. market., • Identify corporate organizations with national meetings, leadership retreats, incentive programs, conferences, and special events., • Maintain detailed knowledge of client buying cycles and sourcing processes., • Position the hotel/resort appropriately for each organization's specific meeting objectives. Client Relationship Management • Build trusted, long-term relationships with national account decision makers., • Conduct client presentations, sales appointments, site inspections, and entertainment., • Coordinate and host familiarization trips when appropriate., • Maintain regular communication with key clients regarding future opportunities., • Provide highly responsive and professional service throughout the sales process., • Serve as a knowledgeable resource regarding the property, destination, accommodations, meeting facilities, F&B, activities, and overall guest experience., • Conduct post-event follow-up to strengthen relationships and identify future opportunities. Industry Presence & Networking • Represent the organization at relevant national and regional industry events, trade shows, sales missions, and networking functions., • Develop relationships through organizations such as PCMA, MPI, ASAE, FICP, SITE, and other relevant industry associations., • Attend client events and industry functions throughout the Washington, D.C. market., • Participate in major industry trade shows and national sales opportunities as assigned., • Maintain awareness of industry trends, account movement, competitive activity, and emerging business opportunities., • Serve as a visible ambassador for the hotel/resort within the meetings and events community. Group Sales Strategy • Partner closely with the Director of Sales, Revenue Management, and property leadership to maximize group revenue., • Understand occupancy patterns, need periods, rate strategy, meeting-space availability, and revenue priorities., • Evaluate opportunities based on total revenue contribution, profitability, displacement, and long-term account value., • Strategically target business that complements the property's overall revenue strategy., • Identify opportunities to drive business during need periods., • Maintain strong awareness of competitive hotels and resorts and effectively communicate competitive advantages. Pipeline, Forecasting & Reporting • Maintain an accurate and active sales pipeline., • Track account production, leads, tentative business, definite bookings, lost business, conversion, room nights, ADR, and total revenue., • Prepare accurate weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual forecasts., • Maintain complete account and activity documentation within the CRM., • Provide market intelligence and competitive information to Sales and Revenue leadership., • Develop quarterly action plans designed to achieve established booking goals., • Track individual sales activity including appointments, prospecting calls, site inspections, client entertainment, and new-account development. Site Inspections & FAM Trips • Coordinate and conduct compelling site inspections for qualified clients., • Host key decision makers and meeting planners during property visits., • Coordinate familiarization trips designed to convert high-value accounts and future group opportunities., • Partner with property teams to showcase accommodations, meeting spaces, restaurants, amenities, activities, and destination experiences., • Follow up strategically after site visits and FAM trips to convert opportunities into confirmed business. Property & Operational Partnership • Maintain strong working relationships with property Sales, Convention Services, Catering, Revenue Management, Reservations, Banquets, Culinary, and Operations., • Ensure confirmed groups are transitioned accurately and effectively to the appropriate operational teams., • Provide detailed account and client information to support seamless execution., • Remain engaged with strategic accounts following turnover when appropriate., • Communicate market intelligence and client feedback to property leadership. Qualifications Required • 5+ years of progressive hotel/resort group sales experience., • Previous experience as a National Sales Manager, National Account Manager, Group Sales Manager, Senior Sales Manager, or comparable hospitality sales professional., • Must currently reside in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan market., • Strong knowledge of the Washington, D.C. group, association, corporate, and meetings market., • Established network of D.C.-based meeting planners and industry contacts strongly preferred., • Demonstrated success achieving significant room-night and revenue goals., • Proven ability to generate business through proactive prospecting and account development., • Experience managing national or regional accounts., • Strong understanding of hotel group sales, guestrooms, meeting space, F&B, concessions, contracts, and total account value., • Exceptional negotiation, presentation, communication, and closing skills., • Highly self-motivated and capable of succeeding within a remote working environment., • Strong organizational and time-management abilities., • Ability and willingness to travel regularly for client appointments, industry events, trade shows, FAM trips, and property visits. Preferred Qualifications • Luxury hotel or resort sales experience., • Strong Washington, D.C. association market experience., • Established relationships with national corporate and association accounts., • Experience selling destination resorts or luxury group experiences., • Experience with large groups, conferences, incentive programs, and executive meetings., • Existing relationships within PCMA, MPI, ASAE, FICP, SITE, or related industry organizations., • Experience with Delphi, Salesforce, CI/TY, Opera Sales & Catering, or comparable CRM/sales systems., • Bachelor's degree in Hospitality, Business, Marketing, or related field preferred. Ideal Candidate Profile The ideal candidate is a highly connected Washington, D.C. hotel sales professional who can work independently and produce significant group business without relying solely on inbound leads. This individual should already understand the D.C. meetings landscape and know how to navigate the city's extensive network of associations, corporations, meeting professionals, third-party planners, and national organizations. The successful candidate will be: • A proven hunter and closer., • Well connected within the Washington, D.C. meetings community., • Highly proactive in new-business development., • Experienced managing national and strategic accounts., • Comfortable selling a luxury hotel or destination resort remotely., • Polished and sophisticated in front of senior-level clients., • Strategic in negotiating profitable group business., • Highly disciplined and productive while working remotely., • Comfortable traveling regularly and maintaining an active client-facing schedule., • Skilled at developing long-term relationships and repeat business., • Strong in both relationship selling and revenue strategy. Measures of Success Performance will be measured through: • Achievement of individual group room-night goals, • Group revenue production, • ADR performance, • New national account acquisition, • Growth of existing strategic accounts, • Association and corporate production, • Proactive sales activity, • RFP conversion, • Site inspection and FAM conversion, • Repeat and multi-year bookings, • Pipeline development, • Forecasting accuracy, • Total account revenue contribution Work Location & Travel This is a remote position; however, candidates MUST reside in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area due to the highly relationship-driven nature of the position. The role requires regular participation in: • In-person client appointments, • D.C.-area networking events, • Association and industry functions, • Client entertainment, • Sales missions, • Trade shows, • Site inspections, • Familiarization trips, • Property visits Regular overnight and national travel should be expected. Compensation & Benefits • Competitive base salary, • Performance-based incentive/bonus opportunity, • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, • 401(k) program, • Paid time off, • Hotel and resort travel benefits, • Business-development and travel expense reimbursement, • Professional association and networking opportunities, • Remote work environment, • Significant opportunity to develop and manage high-value national accounts This is an exceptional opportunity for a Washington, D.C.-based group sales professional with an established network and strong national account experience to represent a premier luxury hotel or resort while working remotely from one of the country's most important meetings and association markets.
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