Maximize Hotel Sales, Minimize General Manager Burnout
A Dedicated Hotel Sales Manager Can Increase Revenue & Productivity
In the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, and increasingly competitive wages across various industries, hotel owners and operators seem to be juggling more responsibilities in 2023 than ever before.
With revenge travel showing no signs of a slowdown, a constant increase of the average daily rate (ADR) earned per occupied room per day, and the return of business travel (Hallelujah!), it is imperative that the hotel operations team be laser-focused on elevating the guest experience, sustaining employee morale and retention, and delivering top-notch customer service.
Hotel Sales should not be left up to the General Manager as an afterthought
As industry leaders, hoteliers and hotel operators need to make a conscious and direct effort to refocus on hotel sales starting NOW. This is especially true for select and limited services properties under 120 rooms, which often leave sales to chance and repeatedly say, “Our General Manager handles sales.”
Let’s consider this reality: approximately 4,000 colleges in the U.S., and fewer than 100 offer sales programs or courses. Additionally, of the 170,000 MBA graduates in the country each year, only a small percentage learn about sales. There is nothing about high-performing sales that is accidental. Is your GM “handling sales,” or are they continuing to relegate it to the bottom of the ever-growing to-do list of problems that need solving on a daily basis?
In a recent industry conversation with Zack Koch, Regional Director of Sales (hotels), Zack estimated that up to 30% of the weekly sales calls he hosts with general managers have to be rescheduled due to the GM working night audit the previous night, covering a front desk shift, or cleaning rooms due to shortages in the housekeeping department. If general managers do not have the time to show up for a weekly 30-minute Zoom call to discuss sales efforts for their property, it is impractical to convince ourselves that they have time to act as the sales manager for the property.
It's time that we all are realistic about what goes into the hotel sales process and how hotel sales should not be treated as an afterthought. As we all know, limited service general managers in 2023 frequently oversee night audits, room-cleaning, front desk shift work, as well as interviewing and hiring. When in their day do they have time for ANY sales-related tasks?
The answer is obvious – they don’t. This is certainly not a negative reflection on the hotel GM. Their plates are full of operational tasks, so why would we pile an entirely separate domain of hotel sales on top of what is already expected of them?
What Does A Hotel Sales Manager Do?
Quite frankly, expecting hotel general managers to also serve as sales team managers is neither conducive to your hotel nor the hotel industry as a whole. Paying someone to take over an entire domain of your hotel management is vital for revenue increase in today’s competitive environment.
Let’s look at a condensed itinerary of a hotel sales manager’s most pressing daily priorities:
Answer any and all RFPs (requests for proposals)
Respond on a timely basis to all online leads generated for the property
Respond to client emails and phone calls
Conduct drives through the parking lots
Make sales calls
Attend local events (Chamber, CVB, etc.)
Oversee sales prospecting and cold calling
Again, the above items are only a sample of what we expect sales managers to accomplish for our properties on a weekly basis. Yet, many continue to believe that a hotel general manager with a full plate is going to tackle even half of that list. Even full-time sales managers do not cold call and prospect like they really should – is it realistic to think that a general manager is going to take time away from their busy schedule and cold call local companies?
Today, It Is Easier Than Ever To Hire A Hotel Sales Manager
In 2023 with so many traditional and remote options for hoteliers (my personal favorite, Hybrid Hotel Sales), there are essentially no reasons why you shouldn’t hire a hotel sales manager who works separately (but often in collaboration with) your hotel general manager.
There are also countless ways to automate certain processes of your hotel sales, which can have the following benefits:
Optimize decision-making and opportunity-capturing
Increase time spent on revenue-generating sales activities
Schedule more meetings with leads and customers
Secure more closed deals
Sustain and nurture employees
Shorten the sales cycle
Accelerate response times
Hotel Tech companies provide tools to assist hotel sales efforts
One of the software solutions that Scarlet Connect offers is, SALES PROSPECTING. This affordable solution allows the sales manager to comb through Google and specific websites to capture contact information and streamline the sales process. The idea behind these “sales
Takeaway
Our job as industry leaders is to set up our sales and operations teams for success, not overwork them, set unrealistic expectations, or ask one person to take on the responsibilities of two to three full- or part-time positions. The industry (and the world) changed when it was forced to adapt to changes prompted by COVID-19. Our thought process and leadership styles must also adapt to not just keep pace but to continue innovating ways to improve the guest experience in sync with hotel sales and operations in this extremely competitive climate. Let’s embrace technology and evolution, knowing that our ability to adjust our sails will ensure our longevity in the long run.
