Director of Sales

Reports to : General Manager, the position is exempt.

If you want to know about the requirements for this role, read on for all the relevant information.

WHO WE ARE

• Hotels done differently. It’s not just a slogan or catchphrase, it is who we are in everything we do. We believe in the power of People, Place + Character;
• ensuring our hotels are a place where individuals are valued and celebrated as a tribute to the neighborhoods and the people of the communities in which we operate;

elevating our associates’ pride in who they are, where they live and who we serve.

The Detroit Foundation Hotel has transformed the historic Detroit Fire Department Headquarters into a 100 room independent hotel that adds another piece to the ongoing Detroit renaissance puzzle.

The hotel draws on the Motor- City's unparalleled past while proactively moving the city to its next incarnation as a national cultural, business and artistic touch- point.

Featuring an inviting ground- floor restaurant, The Apparatus Room, the hotel partne rs with local distillers, brewers, farmers and other edible sundry purveyors to deliver and authentic Detroit experience.

The hotel is managed by Aparium, who has just been named to Travel + Leisure's Top 25 Hotel Brands in the World. Driven by the belief that all hospitality experiences should be fueled by the poetics of their surroundings, Aparium was born with an intense focus on unearthing the amazing moments unique to every city.

Since its founding, Aparium has grown into a new kind of hotel brand, one that ventures off the beaten path, both geographically and philosophically.

It is a sophisticated hotel brand known for its singular ability to combine the business acumen of large hospitality companies with the charm of boutique hotels, bringing disparate forces together in bustling, smaller markets.

THE ROLE

This leadership role requires the tenacity to build and support an efficient and productive sales + catering team; it is not for the faint of heart.

If you are known to have the grit that is associated with an entrepreneurial spirit, then we invite you to your next career opportunity.

You understand how a successful sales department should be running; you have a trainer's mindset and can guide any team through all sales process phases.

You gain deep satisfaction from creating and implementing systems, processes, tools, and sales strategies that help teams succeed for years to come.

WHO YOU ARE

You are passionate about sales, catering, collaboration, and communication with the ability to think creatively and strategically to identify and close on revenue opportunities.

You are a talented and highly effective sales leader that enjoys the solidarity of a team and knows that everyone plays an important role, no matter their title.

When one of the members of the team goes down, you are the first to jump in and pick them up. You are ambitious and looking for the next opportunity.

The Director of Sales role may be a step up in your career. Your confidence in your past success, aptitude, and can-do attitude will prove you are ready to take this leadership role.

If you’re confident in your experience in sales, then this is the role for you.

You are adventurous and driven, plus your experiences have led you to understand that there is an art + science to the how and what a sales leader is responsible for.

Your career journey has been dynamic and is filled with numerous success stories of how you captured indecisive groups. You are inquisitive and look forward to discovering the business needs of your clients and city.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Uphold and role model the company’s principles of People, Place, and Character; and ensure direct reports also model our values that drive collaboration, intuition, and translocal hospitality.
• You are a collaborative peer and a key partner with the SVP of Sales + Revenue, Corporate Director of Sales, VP of Marketing, and the Corporate Revenue Management team,
• Responsible for securing new sales and catering accounts, developing + maintaining existing accounts, and implementing effective sales strategies.

Develop and maintain relationships with key clients to secure group, business travel and catering event business.

• The vision to create and execute a strategic sales plan that addresses pace and productivity should the need arise.
• Work with precision in drafting and validating monthly forecasts utilizing pace reports and trend data.
• Evaluate, solicit, sell, and confirm transient, group and catering business for the hotel; meet overall budgeted sales revenue and profitability, through driving revenue
• Guide and mentor, your team to follow the strategy outlined in your budget to ensure your team is booking the right business at the right time in the best interest of your hotel
• As the Director of Sales, you will work closely with your team by reviewing your funnel every day to drive conversion. Your laser focus on funnel management will guide your team to focus on booking the right business that will be essential to our growth strategy for your hotel
• Negotiate with clients using creative attractive menu presentations + event proposals to achieve both maximum revenue / profit potential and fulfillment of contractual responsibilities while satisfying client needs.
• Dive deep to in Client needs, to discover unstated needs, hidden objections or concerns, and the hotel is the best choice for the client’s needs;

spend time developing the relationship with the client that goes beyond rapport to genuinely understand their individual needs.

Lead and direct the sales and catering team in developing and executing the sales and marketing plan and in refining their revenue forecasting;

provide creative strategies to positively influence sales initiatives that drive revenue helping teams achieve their monthly, quarterly, and annual goals.

• Craft and establish the annual sales goals, ensuring they are fully understood and implemented in the hotel; collect and maintain proper documentation of incentive worksheets to document achievements, which is best in the market.
• Direct the reporting and apprising of results against planned objectives; coordinates sales associate activities; takes appropriate action to maximize sales and affect need periods.
• Develop the annual budget and sales + marketing plan in collaboration with the General Manager and Controller, ensuring the department operates within cost constraints, achieves yield management goals;

ensures proper market mix, group room rate, and average rate goals.

• Coach Sales team by collaboratively helping them creatively solve problems when challenges arise; ensure the team receives the necessary learning and development to grow within their roles whether is functional training or soft skill development activities.
• Conduct property tours and entertain planners of meetings, social events, and weddings.
• Develop and maintain good relationships with officials and representatives of local community groups and companies to promote new business and increase sales for the hotel.
• Build and maintain a trusting and transparent relationship with all stakeholders including ownership and asset management.

Specifically taking the time to develop rapport and respect with the individuals of your peer group, known as the Executive Committee.

Clever in maximizing hotel revenue through effective pricing strategies for transient, group and space inventory, which is done by analyzing sales statistics against booked vs.

consumed business; and having an educated understanding of the local market to determine client needs, occupancy potential, and desired rates.

• Pivot short-term strategy to compensate for short-term needs, without compromising long-term goals, such as placing business on the books in the fourth quarter, without losing focus on the first quarter and gaining traction on long-term goals.
• Collaborate with GM, Director of Food & Beverage and Director of Lifestyle on strategic management of meeting / public space to ensure maximum revenue capture and seamless customer experience.
• Establish regular and frequent communication with Aparium Headquarters to ensure initiatives are executed within the hotel marketing plan;

champion the need for thorough and accurate reporting and forecasting to develop an informative database of business to identify needs, trends and gaps that will create better booking decisions.

• Communicate regularly with the Corporate Director of Sales to provide updates and align on priorities, discuss plans, and request any additional resources to support the operations.
• Additional tasks and responsibilities as requested by SVP of Sales + Revenue, Corporate Director of Sales, and / or hotel General Manager in support of a successful operation.
• Ensure a sense of belonging for associates by upholding the company’s values and guidelines for a Respectful Workplace, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment;

and the traits outlined within the Manager Code of Conduct, and Work Rules outlined the Associate Handbook.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of hospitality sales experience within upscale, lifestyle or luxury hospitality companies
• Minimum of three (3) years in a Catering and Conference Services role
• Delphi FDC and Lanyon system knowledge preferred but not required
• Bachelor’s degree in sales, marketing, communications, or hospitality is preferred though not required if you have the proven years of experience in a sales leader role
• Adaptable interpersonal skills to communicate and address all associate levels of the hotel
• Professional proficiency of the English language in reading, writing, and verbal communication

HOW YOU LEAD

Engage others in general conversation tactics to build rapport quickly; leading and adapting communication and presentation tactics to engage your audience;

displaying adaptable interpersonal skills for a wide range of audiences and stakeholders

• Approach fact-finding and discovery missions in a collaborative effort; valuing input and experiences of others that creates additional insight to uncover deeper issues that may need to be addressed or removed as a barrier to implementation.
• Value the importance of making decisions with integrity, maintaining confidentiality across internal workgroups, and knowing how to use discretion when appropriate;

knows how to keep a secret by understanding the difference between transparency and confidentiality

Highly analytical in thought and recommendations, although never acting like the smartest person in the room; and continually seeking out the facts;

able to express a point of view without being driven by your ego.

• Demonstrates business acumen and practices sound financial decisions by ensuring the actions and plans put into place support the achievement of sales goals and budgets
• Demonstrates the ability to identify strategic needs yet can be a soldier to ensure a strategic plan is implemented.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Aparium Hospitality Services celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment, and a sense of belonging for all associates.

We do not discriminate and believe every individual should be proud of who they are, and where they come from and take pride in who we serve.

Aparium is an E-Verify employer.

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