Monday, November 2, 2009

Sales Department


 
While working in the sales department I have really been able to learn so much more about this department including:
 
Site Visits:
Sales managers bring potential clients into the hotel so that they can view our property to see if it meets their standards and to see if it is the right place to hold their next event. It is critical that they have a wonderful first impression and that everything is perfect. Therefore, sales assistants do a site visit check prior to the guest coming in. The sales managers will show the potential clients numerous rooms which include one of our standard rooms, king rooms, parlor suites and usually another higher end suite. While every room at the island hotel is perfect prior to a guest checking in and our housekeeping staff does an exceptional job making the room meticulous, it always helps to have a second once over before the inspection. We go through and look for little things that are sometimes missed by another person, for example if the room is at the right temperature and the lighting is right. Once we do this we make sure the manager has a sales kit with everything about the hotel included.
 
Marketing for the hotel:
The sales department is also in charge of marketing and promoting our hotel. They are very good at what they do, by knowing our very select market segment and how they like to be advertised to, the hotel can then choose the proper media placement and advertising campaigns. We send out holiday cards to many of our guests and clients just as a thank you for using our hotel and this sets us apart from our competitors. We feature an exclusive club where members are allowed special things that regular guests do not always receive such as complimentary parking and 20% off some menus. They are also in charge of updating the website with new promotions the hotel is featuring.
 
Daily Business Review Meetings:
I was able to go to a DBR meeting which is held every morning with the sales team and some managers in catering. They discuss potential business they might have, if we have enough room for the event, and if we actually want the event to be held at our hotel. Being the only five diamond hotel in Newport beach requires us to have a certain standard for guests and events that occur at our hotel. We have to be picky sometimes, even if the group is going to spend a large amount of money at our hotel but they will be a distraction for the rest of our guests, sometimes we have to choose to let this piece of business go to another hotel.
 
Updating contact information and IATA numbers:
When sales managers go to networking events or meet new potential clients and get their business cards, someone has to enter them into delphi. I was able to enter or update more than 200 business cards. Delphi will save this information so that it is much easier for the sales managers to keep in contact with these people over time. An IATA number stands for International Air Transport Association, which is an association that maintains a database of travel agencies and other entities engaged in the sale of travel. Each agency or entity has a different 8 digit numerical code that identifies them so that we know that they are actually a certified member.
 
Contracts:
When the hotel finds a group that wants to host their meeting at our hotel and we have the space for them, we come up with a contract that includes the dates and rates of their event. It is extremely important to have a signed copy on record in case something ever happens, so that we will not loose money and will receive what was agreed upon prior to the event. Contracts are a great way to show in writing what was decided, what the group is getting, and what they owe us. The hotel hired a lawyer who specializes in writing contracts for hotels and had him write a standard contract for us. He knows what he is talking about and knows situations that could potentially happen to the hotel that would cause them to loose money or not recieve what they agreed upon and includes causes in our contracts so that the hotel is not responsible or at risk for potential risks. He gives a monthly conference phone call to everyone who uses him, and he talks about some updates we could include in the contracts to further protect the hotel from liabilities. Once the contracts are made, we can merge our delphi account to the contract, and then you go through and make sure all the information is correct. A mangager will check over the contract to make sure it includes everything they want. 

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The purpose of this blog is to document a college internship experience. Content published on this blog represents the author's ideas, opinions and experience. This does not necessarily represent the views of the internship organization.