Meeting & Events Sales Manager

SUMMARY:
Destination Hotel with demand for conferencing, meetings, events and weddings is looking for a Head Office based Meeting & Events Sales Manager based in Durban North.
 
As the dedicated Meeting & Events Sales Manager you will proactively grow and manage these segments that play a critical role in driving mid-week occupancy, healthy average room rates and high total revenue across accommodation, food & beverage and ancillary Safari and Spa services.
 
You will also represent their Ballito based Boutique Hotel with selective opportunities for executive retreats or intimate events.

POSITION INFO:
Duties:

Drive profitable growth across meetings, conferences, events and weddings, while acting as the single point of contact for clients and wedding couples from first enquiry through to final handover to operations.
Proactive sales and conversion
Relationship management
Full pre-event and pre-wedding planning
Clear, structured handover to the operations team
Proactively source and convert meetings, conferences, events and wedding enquiries
Manage direct wedding enquiries, working closely with couples from initial enquiry to confirmation
Build relationships with corporates, NGOs, government departments, facilitators, planners and wedding service providers
Conduct site inspections and represent the properties professionally
Manage all enquiries and RFPs end-to-end
Act as the single point of contact for corporate clients and wedding couples
Own all pre-event and pre-wedding planning and coordination, including:
Function and wedding sheets
Schedules and timelines
Guest room allocations
Catering and beverage requirements
AV, décor and special requests
Ensure all events and weddings are fully scoped, costed and confirmed in advance
Deliver a clear, documented handover to the operations team so execution is seamless
Maintain a forward-looking sales pipeline across all segments
Achieve agreed revenue, room-night and profitability targets
Track enquiry-to-conversion ratios and repeat business
Provide regular performance reporting to management

Requirements:

Grade 12
A formal hospitality qualification
Hospitality sales, conferencing, events or wedding sales experience preferred
Experience dealing directly with wedding couples is a strong advantage
An existing professional network within the corporate, events or wedding industry would be advantageous.
Calm, confident and emotionally intelligent
Highly organised and detail-oriented
Commercially astute with a clear understanding of yield and margin
Able to manage multiple events and weddings simultaneously
Self-driven and comfortable working independently