Sales & Marketing - Conference Services Manager

Can you sell ice to polar bears? Do you have hospitality sales experience? If you said "YES" then The Desoto wants you!!! Come work with our amazingly talented sales team in a welcoming, supportive hospitality environment!

QUALIFICATIONS: EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING & WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 2 years experience in hospitality
• Bachelor's Degree preferred
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Working knowledge of a hotel.
• 2 years previous experience in the hospitality industry.
• Highly developed communication skills and human relation skills
• Strong organizational skills.
• Computer literate in Microsoft Word, Publisher and able to learn the Delphi system.
• Prefer experience in hotel sales and catering sales or related industry.
• Aggressive, outgoing and self-motivating individual with pleasant personality.

BASIC FUNCTIONS

The Catering & Conference Services Manager is responsible for ensuring booked events are in compliance and planned with property policy while maintaining high standards of quality and efficiency. Maintaining optimum guest satisfaction and meeting or exceeding overall profitability objectives.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Establish and maintain a positive, professional relationship with clients through effective, accurate, timely, and reliable communication and action. Always remaining one step ahead of the client in anticipation of their needs.
• Guarantee that each client's expectations, requirements, and request are being met prior to arrival and throughout their visit.
• Preparing banquet event orders, diagrams and group resumes in a timely manner
• Manages group room blocks and meeting space for assigned groups.
• Maintains detailed files, notes, records, and trace systems to ensure event meets with client’s expectations
• Ensure all functions are checked prior to client's arrival guaranteeing all details are in agreement to client's requirements and hotel standards. Meet with the appropriate staff prior to the function to ensure any deficiencies are corrected by respective personnel
• Ensure that all necessary information is obtained from the client in a timely and accurate manner and property guidelines and standards are being followed and relayed to client in a timely and professional fashion. Ensure all communication to other departments is produced accurately and on time.
• Communicate the following requirements to all of the appropriate departments according to the prescribed standard operating procedures including attending BEO/preconference planning meetings in covering the following:
• - Rooming List
• - Transportation Requirements
• - Meeting Room Set-Ups, Set by and Refresh times Audio Visual Requirements
• - Recreational Requirements
• - Food and Beverage Requirements Billing Information
• - Additional Information as Deemed Necessary
• Assist in implementation of strategies to increase average checks, upselling menu items, etc.
• Perform other related duties as requested by Director of Sales & Marketing.
• Recommend profit and operational improvements to Director of Sales & Marketing.
• Practice safety standards and report any unsafe conditions to the Director of Sales & Marketing.
• Greets customer during the event phase and hands-off to Banquets team for the execution of details.
• Remain alert, courteous and helpful to guests at all times.

MARGINAL FUNCTIONS

• Respond to any reasonable task as assigned by Manager.
• Interface positively with other departments, offering assistance when needed.
• Stay current with Delphi trace list and account data.
• To assist any department as is necessary due to business levels; which may require physical activity.

At Our Town Hospitality, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our Town Hospitality believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.