Now Hiring - Hampton Inn by Hilton - Travel Catering Sales Manager - Graduate Iowa City in Des Moines, IA

Full description of the position

Graduate Hotels® is seeking a Catering Sales Manager to join Graduate Iowa City and its brilliant team of hospitality enthusiasts.

Graduate Hotels creates authentic, spirited spaces that connect travelers, students and locals alike. Through thoughtfully curated design, creative F&B and community-focused events, we create hotels worthy of their communities.

We are a diverse team of experience makers and storytellers. As a Graduate Hotels team member, you are the local insider shaping guest experiences. Our goal is to make every guest feel like a local even if it's their first time in town. In order to help you deliver on that goal, we encourage our team members to embody the same mindset as our guests through Graduate experiences and encouraged community exploration.

Graduate Hotels is proud to be Great Place to Work-Certified™, proving that our associates feel our commitment to cultivate a culture of inspirational and supportive leadership.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for learning the hotel brand and strategy
• Drive customer loyalty in order to grow share of the account by delivering service excellence throughout each customer interaction
• Identifies and solicits new accounts from telemarketing, appointments, site tours, cold calls, and inquiries via email, phone, and in person interactions
• Provides advice to clients on all aspects of hotel facilities and services when proposing and contacting groups and events
• Establishes client base of organizations, associations, and corporate businesses through direct sales efforts to secure business for the hotel
• Achieve all predetermined sales goals for revenue and sales activity
• Provide prompt and accurate responses to all client requests for proposals and information
• Organize banquet or catering services, reserve audio-visual equipment and plan any changes to the configuration of the event space
• The main job function of the Catering Sales Manager is to ensure that all events run as planned
• Sign contractual agreements and usually keep records of all communications in writing
• Meet with the heads of other departments in the hotel to coordinate any planned events
• Monitor events and address unexpected problems as they arise to make sure that the functions go as planned
• Provide pricing and guidance recommendations to clients with approval by the Director of F&B or Chef as needed
• Ensure all pertinent aspects of solicitation, closing, and customer communications are complete and documented and maintain existing accounts with active trace/follow up system
• Participate in Quarterly/Annual Business and Marketing Plans, assist with budget process
• Provide prompt and accurate responses to all client requests for proposals and information
• Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of High School education, post-high school education preferred
• Minimum of 3 years in hotel or conference Catering/Sales

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing
• Excellent listening and problem-solving skills
• Ability to exceed expectations of guests and team members
• Negotiating Skills
• Strong computer skills
• Must have flexible work hours that may include evenings, weekends, and holidays

About Graduate Hotels®

Graduate Hotels is a hand-crafted collection of hotels that reside in dynamic university-anchored towns across the country. Each hotel pays homage to the heritage of its unique town through cultural nods to the local community. Launched in 2014, there are 35 hotels across the U.S. and U.K. Graduate Hotels is owned by Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners, a vertically integrated real estate developer, owner and operator. For more information on Graduate Hotels, please visit [please apply online] Hotels is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $55,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Cell phone reimbursement
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid training
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Supplemental pay types:

• Bonus pay

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Des Moines, IA: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: One location