Event Sales & Service Manager

About The Property:

The Hilton Garden Inn Falls Church is nestled in the heart of Falls Church, the “Little City,” a unique and historic city. Besides featuring quick access to renowned museums and art galleries in nearby Washington, D.C., almost every neighbourhood is a treasure of its own, with a variety of restaurants and shops that reflect the city's great ethnic and cultural diversity. We're within walking distance of the Cherry Hill Farmhouse and The State Theatre. The West Falls Church metro station is a mile away, the Shops at Tysons Galleria are nearby, and it’s a short walk to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, where you can ride, walk, skate, or run the paved 45-mile trail from Shirlington to Purcellville, Virginia. The hotel offers a distinctive food and beverage option in the Garden Grill and Bar enjoyed by guests and locals alike. The meeting and event space creates an atmosphere enjoyed by many, capable of creating a productive yet comfortable environment for business purposes and events that are memorable for families, organizations, or professional gatherings.

Position Summary:

The Event Sales & Service Manager’s primary role is selling, the achievement of their individual revenue goal, and the servicing of their events for the Catering, Banquet & Restaurant Departments. Duties also include contract review, event deposits, menu planning, agenda setting, hotel planning services, payment collection, and event execution. The Event Sales & Service Manager also hosts hotel tours, maintains strong customer, community, and brand relationships. 

What will I be doing?

• Respond to inquiries from potential clients and customers seeking sleeping rooms, meeting space, food and beverage services, etc.
• Travel primarily outside the hotel to initiate new sales, solicit leads, and make sales proposals and presentations
• Host and entertain clients and maintain client accounts
• Determine rates and negotiate contracts
• Develop sales strategies to meet or exceed established revenue and room night goals
• Generate food and beverage revenue for groups, meetings and restaurant events as well as guest rooms totalling 10 or less nights by responding to customer inquiries promptly
• Handles negotiations with meeting planners and generate Banquet Event Orders based on agreed contractual terms. Prepare and process all required paperwork to include BEOs for groups with room blocks of 10 or less, and all other related correspondences with clients
• Support daily distribution of BEO's, reader boards and change logs
• Work alongside the Food & Beverage team to ensure event spaces, food and beverage are set and executed to the clients' expectations
• Develop a schedule of events that will generate revenue and awareness of the hotel restaurant
• Maintain excellent working relationship from initial lead call through follow-up solicitation and maintain contact with all support departments, including banquets and functions room departments, until event conclusion
• Conduct property tours to promote facilities and services
• Maintain files, create marketing materials and other office functions
• Represent the catering department as needed
• Take on additional tasks as required

Requirements

What are we looking for?

As Event's Sales & Service Manager serving Hilton brands is always working on behalf of our Guests and working with other Team Members. To successfully fill this role, you should maintain the attitude, behaviours, skills, and values that follow:

• Positive attitude and good communication skills
• Commitment to delivering a high level of customer service
• Excellent grooming standards
• Strong leadership skills, whereas it is evident that you can effectively manage and motivate a team to perform beyond expectations
• Strong analytical skills so to understand key business indicators and competitive trends and develop approaches to these challenges
• Excellent selling capabilities and the ability and desire to coach selling techniques to Team Members
• Excellent organisational and planning skills
• Experience in a similar role with a proven track record
• Flexibility to work nights, weekends and holidays as needed for major events

It would be advantageous in this position for you to demonstrate the following capabilities and distinctions:

• Knowledge of local market
• Knowledge of hospitality
• Passion for sales and for achieving targets and objectives
• Prior use of Delphi FDC
• Degree-level qualification in a relevant field would be advantageous