Catering Sales Manager

Westmont Hospitality Group is seeking a dynamic **Catering Sales Manager** to join our Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront team. Reporting to the Director of Sales, the incumbent is responsible for soliciting and responding to clients, potential clients, and organizations to rent meeting space, and purchase food and beverage from the hotel. The incumbent will book and finalize all banquet and meeting functions.

**Major Duties and Responsibilities**
- Proactively solicits and qualifies existing and new business to achieve personal and hotel revenue goals. This will be done through sales calls, trade shows, promotions, inquiries, and telephone contacts;
- Manages customer relationships through drafting proposals and contracts, responding to customer inquiries, as well as organizing arrangements as they relate to events i.e., set-up and execute all events;
- Develops new customer partnerships along with nurturing existing relationships (evening and weekends as required);
- Communicates with clients to ensure details for events are accurate and complete on a timely basis. Exercises decision-making skills to ensure customer satisfaction and hotel profitability;
- Conducts site inspections;
- Ensures events progress seamlessly by following established procedures, collaborating with other employees and ensuring accuracy;
- Updates software with event information and customer communication;
- Details, organizes, and distributes Banquet Event Orders (BEO’s) and all other pertinent information necessary;
- Provides direction and supervision of meeting and/or catering logistics to all other departments and team members responsible for event execution;
- Communicates all pertinent information to clients, employees and involved departments;
- Attends in-house meetings as required;
- Completes administrative duties including organizing files, distribution, collects faxes, etc.;
- Listens and extends assistance to resolve conflicts such as price conflicts, menu descriptions, banquet facilities, seating charts;
- Identifies operational challenges with the client and determines how to best work with the employees and client to solve the challenges and/or develop alternative solutions;
- Completes all BEOs in a timely manner and ensure all required information is included;
- Communicates all special needs/requests to the responsible employees to ensure completion of requirements;
- Fully knowledgeable of the meeting/function space;
- Ensures billing accuracy and conducts bill reviews with the clients prior to processing the final bill;
- Ensures guest satisfaction after the event by following up with a thank you letter;
- Responds to and handles guest problems and complaints.
**Minimum Qualifications and Skills**
- Must have 5 years catering/sales and/or event planning experience in hotel environment.
- Must have a post-secondary degree/diploma in hotel/hospitality management or event planning.
- Must have a strong understanding of food and menu creation.
- Must have strong negotiation and closing skills.
- Must have sales experience, including negotiation skills and the ability to upsell.
- Must be customer service oriented.
- Must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Must be self-motivated, detail oriented, strong organizational skills and problem solving skills.
- Must be available to work flexible hours, including weekends.
**Mental Effort**
- Listening and mental attentiveness in dealing with customer queries, and Director’s requirements.
- Mental effort required in multi-tasking and handling interruptions that require refocusing.
- Mental and visual concentration during computer work daily.
***Physical Effort**
- Standing for long periods of time.
- Walking for a long period of time.
- Performs computer work daily.
**Working Conditions**
- Governed by concurrent and dynamic deadlines, despite conflicting priorities and frequent interruptions.
- Constantly handling of queries and calls from guests, potential guests, and other departments.
- Must have own vehicle and willingness to travel to events as required.
- Occasionally required to travel.
- Must be able to work flexible hours.
**Type of Supervision Required