Sales Manager - Middle East Specialist

Our Support Office a modern office located close to Old Street and Barbican in central London. This friendly open plan office houses several of the key support functions including Sales, Human Resources, Marketing and Central Revenue. Conveniently located with great transport links the office is the London base for the back office functions of Guoman and Thistle.

The Role

The Middle East market currently represents a large % of our travel trade business within The Cumberland and Thistle Marble Arch, therefore the role of the sales manager will provide dedicated support to not only nurture future business from this market but to also provide a dedicated and unrivalled guest relations service to our high value clients who require the personal touch With 15 hotels and over 5000 bedrooms in London, the role also will also be responsible for identifying opportunities across the whole group of hotels.

Key aspects of the role:

• The role will require proactive sales experience, within the GCC countries, previous experience in hotel would be an advantage
• Deliver the strategic business plan across each assigned segment of the business to achieve target revenue individually and across the team, this includes leisure, corporate, M&E and group business
• Consistently deliver on agreed weekly activity targets for leads, calls and appointments and demonstrate results from the activity
• To work closely with hotels within the cluster to align rate plans and pricing
• Attend trade shows and client office visits as required, with a set of clear objectives and targets
• Work within the central travel trade contracting guidelines, with a clear understanding of the client structures and booking process
• Targeting intra-GCC markets.  Strategic reviews of the GCC spread of business (Kuwaiti/Emirati/Qatari/Saudi/Bahraini but also further afield in Egypt, Israel and Turkey
• Assist Key Account Directors (Travel Trade) with development, implementation, and execution of business development strategies within the GCC markets
• Monitor and analyse key performance metrics, industry data and market trends whilst regularly and consistently reporting to key stakeholders
• Proactive outreach to develop the MICE and Business Group market and to target key agents
• Key point of contact for the GCC operators providing a ‘Guest Relations’ role to support this important segment
• Personal handling of high-end booking opportunities and the building of relationships into the specialist ‘desks’ of the major Middle East operators
• Understand competitors’ business through site visits and Hotelligence reporting
• To completely understand the brand(s) you are working within and feel confident presenting to internal and external customers
• Utilise salesforce.com to enrich client specific data to build a deep understanding of the accounts, the opportunities that exist and to share key information with the hotels
• Work with the operational teams to understand the requirements of this specialist market so we can build a product relevant to this market
• Create an environment of upselling opportunities across the hotel teams with cross selling into the other 3 clusters where relevant
• Be passionate about learning and developing your own skills and understanding of the industry

What we look for

• Excellent at building new and existing client relationships
• Minimum of 2 years experience in the hospitality arena
• Arabic speaker would be an advantage
• Target driven
• Highly commercial
• Can work collaboratively across the hotels and central teams
• Adaptable to different markets & segments Skills
• Excellent at building new and existing client relationships
• Minimum of 2 years experience in the hospitality arena
• Arabic speaker would be an advantage
• Target driven
• Highly commercial
• Can work collaboratively across the hotels and central teams
• Adaptable to different markets & segments

What's in it for you?

• Great development opportunities
• Discounted rates on hotel rooms, food and drink across the Clermont Hotel Group
• Interest free season ticket loans (conditions apply)
• Access to a 24/7 Employee Assistance Program
• Pension and Healthcare Schemes
• Wagestream - get access to earned salary before payday
• Paid volunteering days
• Generous recommend a friend scheme
• Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications up to Level 7 (Master's Degree equivalent)
• Access to discounts and cashback through a huge range of retailers and service providers via our online benefits portal
• Great Recognition program
• ...and many more!