FAENA hiring Account Director - Travel Industry in Miami Beach, FL | LinkedIn (2024)

THE FAENA CULTURE The FAENA Movement is one of culture, art and community. The FAENA Culture is steeped in the warmth and traditions of the South combining authentic and attentive hospitality with the world’s finest amenities. We act as a catalyst in making dreams a reality with the collaboration of ideas. Creating carefully curated spaces paired with excellence in service to delight the most sophisticated guests as they are indulged by the FAENA Culture.

Job OverviewThe Account Director meets and exceeds revenue goals by prospecting and developing new accounts, and growing revenue market share of current accounts within the U.S. East Coast territory in a most collaborative, effective, efficient and profitable approach. This position will serve as the sales & marketing representative of Faena Hotel Miami Beach for all transient clients within the designated respective territories overseeing all travel industry accounts, all entertainment market segments, and all corporate clients including corporate travel accounts, direct customers and individual guests. This position will drive and engage ongoing client sales activities including sales calls & meetings, tradeshows & events, industry webinars, familiarization educational trip, and brand presence within the respective markets utilizing sales strategies that lead to YOY measurable growth and increased customer perceived value, and will ensure preferred partner accounts are held accountable for their annual revenue and room night production. This position will foster effective communications within the sales & marketing and reservations department, and between all team members and operations managers as they relate to successful execution of guest reservations, client service experiences, new account developments, special events, and sales tactics. Build immediate rapport with new contacts and uses direct selling and solicitation efforts for uncovering new business opportunities. This position is responsible to support Director of Transient Sales revenue maximization goals and control of expenses through effective negotiation of contracts, timely and accurate submission of requests for proposal, lead responses, accurate forecasting, appropriate marketing endeavors and expenditures. This position will provide Director of Transient Sales and VP of Sales & Marketing with weekly and monthly market intelligence as needed about targeted new and growth accounts in all transient market segments including latest travel industry & entertainment market insight and economic changes/developments within the local market. This position will support Director of Transient Sales with the execution of timely communication of Faena marketing content, consortia go-to-market promotions, and any public offers within respective territories and local accounts.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Develop and execute effective sales strategy plans for targeted accounts; manage ongoing growth of each account
• Effectively maintain strong working relationships with all accounts and key stakeholders to achieve business objectives.
• Identify and utilize credible resources and data to develop strategic plans to uncover and secure new business. These plans will incorporate both customer expectations and feedback in line to support transient sales revenue goals.
• Demonstrate ability to proactively identify customer business needs and requirements and prepare effective proposals that well represent the hotel’s amenities, services, and brand culture.
• Achieve or exceed revenue goals that support quarterly transient sales budget and forecasted revenue goals.
• Monitors achievement of objectives for each target account and takes appropriate action to correct shortfalls when needed.
• Responsible for directing and leading sales missions and activities through internal and external resources. Ability to build an effective sales call program and client engagement schedule when traveling within local market and throughout respective territories.
• Define and improve customer value proposition by staying relevant about competitive set hotels and their offerings.
• Prepare an annual budget for business travel within respective territories and other necessary sales & marketing expenses.
• Grow industry and client relationships that enable the development and deployment of sales initiatives.
• Develop effective oral and written presentations where objectives, ideas, recommendations, and conclusions are communicated clearly and understood by the audience.
• Ability to multi-task and manage multiple priorities at any given time.
• Ability to pre-qualify and make every client and guest feel like they are the most important.
• Ability to travel and host client approved familiarization educational (FAM) trips on property.
• Demonstrates hotel financial acumen; ability to comprehend revenue management reports, STAR and Travel Click reports and create sales strategies to increase fair market share within designated accounts.
• Supports the department’s top line revenue by adhering to sales strategy guidelines set forth by Director of Transient Sales and VP of Sales & Marketing.
• Meets and exceeds individual transient revenue goals and contributes to overall hotel/district wide revenue. Actively sells and identifies opportunities to up-sell accommodation and cross sell guest services/experiences throughout the sales process. Effectively manages budgets to support maximizing revenue.
• Understands the overall market in which they sell - competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, economic and industry trends, supply and demand, etc.
• Builds and strengthens relationships with existing and new customers to include on strategic sales calls, entertainment, FAM trips, etc. Conducts customer site inspections when on property.
• Excels at proactive selling. Targets key accounts, markets, or segments with heavy emphasis on proactive solicitation and account saturation. Proactively identifies, qualifies, and solicits new business to achieve personal and hotel revenue goals. Focuses on both primary and secondary accounts with potential sales revenue.
• Responds to all incoming inquiries in a timely manner offering the necessary sales service support and manages client expectations well along this process.
• Closes the best and most profitable opportunities for the hotel based on market conditions and hotel needs.
• Maintains rate integrity and supports revenue and rate management strategies.
• Works efficiently with reservations to ensure bookings are confirmed in a timely manner by providing all pertinent guest information and special requests to ensure necessary information is translated to operations in clear and concise manner in order to support the execution of flawless guest arrival and stay experiences.
• Communicates effectively with front office, concierge, housekeeping, pool & beach and F&B outlet managers on a daily basis as needed to ensure client & guest expectations are met or exceeded.
• Refers any group leads from respective territory (10 rooms and more) to on-property group sales team and event leads to onsite catering sales team.
• Creates corporate rate contracts as needed and manages rates via Lanyon.
• Maintains ongoing record of sales activities in Delphi.
• Participates in daily morning department line-up, weekly revenue meeting and any other internal departmental meetings if required.
• Processes all necessary daily paperwork for other departments in a timely manner.
• Maintains good relationships with counterparts at competing hotels.
• Maintains an updated contact database and sends to Faena Marketing regularly to add to the brand’s database for news and updates.
• Collaborates with and maintains positive working relations with Accor Global Sales Offices within respective territories to maximize additional sales supports especially for Accor key accounts.

Requirements

• Minimum of 4 years’ relevant luxury selling experience as Sr. Sales Manager/Sales Director for luxury hotels and/or resorts specializing in the U.S. East Coast markets.
• Ability to work from home independently based in Los Angeles area in an organized environment
• Ability to travel within & from/to U.S. East Coast and Miami.
• Experience in a senior luxury hospitality sales manager/director role with a highly motivated, self-starter can do attitude.
• Brings an existing active network of clients from travel industry, entertainment sales, and corporate travel within the respective territories.
• Highly self-organized and attentive to details; friendly and highly personable
• Demonstrates luxury selling skills, excellent oral and written presentation & communication skills, and 5-star customer service skills.
• Demonstrates ability and know-how to prospect for new business and ability to close business.
• Demonstrates ability to influence clients and key decision makers.
• Demonstrates ability to listen well, to ask important questions to solicit information, and to communicate relevant client feedback and information in order to achieve account specific goals.
• Exudes confidence to speak with all levels of B2B and B2C clients.
• Ability to adapt and cater to different personalities.
• Ability to utilize hotel systems including Opera, Delphi, Lanyon; proficient PC user and ability to utilize Microsoft Office with proficient knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; proficient user of Zoom and Microsoft Teams
• Demonstrates solid hotel financial acumen; ability to comprehend revenue management reports, STAR and Travel Click reports
• Represent a luxury hotel and luxury lifestyle brand in the most professional manner at all times taking into account quality of communication, level of appropriate verbiage, and quality of dress & professional attire
• Work closely with Director of Transient Sales, VPS&M and Revenue Management Team to effectively communicate industry trends and develop strategies to increase revenues across the brand.