© 2011, Educational Institute Chapter 3 Organizing for Convention Sales Convention Management and Service Eighth Edition (478TXT or 478CIN)

© 2011, Educational Institute

Chapter 3 Organizing for Convention Sales

Convention Management and ServiceEighth Edition

(478TXT or 478CIN)

© 2011, Educational Institute 2

Competencies forOrganizing for Convention Sales

1. Identify factors to consider when organizing for convention sales.

2. Describe typical sales and marketing staff positions, and outline the roles of regional and national sales offices and independent hotel representatives.

(continued)


Competencies forOrganizing for Convention Sales

3. Explain how to manage the efforts of the sales team in terms of establishing standard operating procedures, conducting sales meetings, assigning account responsibility, and evaluating the sales effort.

4. Explain the various records and filing systems maintained by a sales office.

5. Describe technological applications for a sales office.

(continued)


Organizing for Convention Sales

Sales Structures

• Hotel chains with multiple brands are consolidating and relying more on regional and national sales offices

• Chains are assigning a single salesperson to represent all brands in their company to meeting planners

• Revenue managers and revenue departments are becoming common as hotels look to maximize revenue—property wide—from convention groups

(continued)


Organizing for Convention Sales

Small Properties• Salesperson and general manager will solicit all

market segments

Large Properties• Hotels tend to specialize and assign sales staff to

specific meeting market segments

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In convention-oriented hotels, the sales office works closely with three key departments:•Convention services•Banquets/Catering•Revenue Management



Convention Sales

Sales Manager: “We sell the dream.”

Services Manager: “We service the Nightmare!”

• Sales and Events do work very closely but have significantly different approaches to the clients.

• Sales has a responsibility to drive “head in beds” and Services to drive “food and beverage revenue”.

• This lack of unified goal and lack of empathy for each other often creates a tense relationship.

(continued)


Convention Sales

• Sales usually has a stronger relationship with the client and can be your best ally or worst enemy.

• The turnover is crucial to building the trust with the client.

• Often sales will hear the “bad’ before you and not always willing to share the “glory” of a successful program.

• Events expects the Sales Manager to meet clients on site and intervene when necessary during the planning stages.

• NOTE: After all sales wrote the contract and are responsible for it

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Sales and Marketing Staff

Positions within Sales

• Director of sales and marketing—leads the sales effort by setting objectives and monitoring action plans

• Director of sales—executes the marketing plan, coordinates and directs the efforts of the sales staff

• Convention sales manager—solicits convention trade for the hotel

• Convention service manager—coordinates and services the conventions booked by the property

• Tour and travel sales manager—develops group and charter business for the hotel

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Sales and Marketing Staff

• Advertising and public relations director—coordinates all promotional materials and public relations

• Sales staff—prospect, set appointments, and call on prospective clients

• Clerical support—maintain records, provide support, assist in follow-up

Supplemental Sales Staff

• Regional sales offices—provides a central information point that directs meeting planners to the property that will best meet their needs

• Independent representatives—represent the property as a “long arm” of the sales department

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National Sales Offices

• Solicit business for any hotel in the chain

• One-stop shopping (similar meetings)

• Computer banks on clients and chain properties

• Intermediary between client and local sales.

• NOTE: Typically the NSM will have little interaction with hotel or group unless high profile client or issues arise.


Independent Hotel Representatives

• Used when in-house staff cannot cover all areas

• Services offered vary widely

• Represent more than one property (but rarely similar clients)

• Hired on a contract basis

• Must work within the scope of the property's marketing plan and familiarize themselves with the property


Standard Operating Procedures

• Describe how recurring business actions should be handled

• Act as a reference that helps banquet and sales staff handle functions consistently

• Cover such things as function book control, booking policies, organizational chart, and reservation cut-off dates


Areas Covered by SOPs• Function book control and procedures• Guestroom control book procedures• Booking policies• Rate guidelines for high and low demand periods• Credit/deposit/cancellation policies• Policies regarding VIP and complimentary rooms• Meeting room rental fees and procedures• Banquet and room reservation cut-off dates• Convention service standards and procedures• Organization chart and job description for sales department


Types of Marketing andSales Meetings

• Weekly staff meetings

• Weekly function meetings

• Weekly revenue management committee meetings

• Annual or semiannual sales meetings for all employees


Assigning Account Responsibility

Methods and Fairness

• Accounts could be assigned by market segment or by specific accounts.

• CSM is also assigned this way

• The director of sales will distribute based on sales manager markets.

Key Account Management

• Prioritizes accounts based on profits

• Helps identify the accounts with the highest profit potential


Evaluating the Sales Effort

The director of sales should:• Evaluate each salesperson’s weekly activity

report and his or her reader file

• Periodically review the organizational structure of the sales office


The Importance of Relationships• Meeting planners value personal relationships

with hotel salespeople• Choice of hotel is frequently based on

relationships with convention sales personnel and with the convention service manager

• Technology (e-mail, voice mail, Internet, text messaging) has tended to depersonalize the sales process

• Salespeople should strive to develop lifelong relationships with clients

• Seek to “own the planner’s business”


Sales Filing Systems and Forms Elements of Sales Filing Systems

• Master card• Account file• Tickler file

Control Books• Function book• Guestroom control book

Sales Forms• Tentative booking sheet• Definite booking form• Working file• Change form• Cancellation form• Lost business form


Master Card

• Summarizes sales efforts

• Serves as prospect database

• Often color-coded

• Trailer cards hold information ondivisions of large companies

• Details contact names, months in which group meets, size of group, where the group has met in the past, and key decision-makers


Account File

• Serves as the basic group business record

• Folder that includes all correspondence and related materials

• Started at initial contact

• Also color-coded with cross-reference to master card

• Information in the file includes tear sheets, past convention programs, and contracts


• Also known as a trace file, bring-up file, or follow-up file

• Helps ensure effective follow-up

• Filed by month/day in accordion-style files

• Entry in the pocket for the day or month you want to contact prospect

• Software programs such as Delphi and SEIBEL are valuable tools for sales. Integrate into other applications.


Control Books—Function Book• A master control of all banquet space; each page or

computer screen lists the property’s meeting space and allows for recording of meeting activity by day

• A page for every day of the year

• All function rooms represented on each page

• Entries under function rooms include name of organization, type of function, attendees, rates, etc.

• Most hotels have computerized their function book

• One person should control and maintain the function book (manual version)

• Prevents is designed to prevent overbooking …


Control Books—Function Book• Double Booking does happen in some cases.

• Tentative Bookings (Prospects)

• Larger Programs booking at last minute and smaller groups have the space

• Contracted group is not “picking up” as expected and may drop space due to decreased attendance.

• Expected “wash” of meeting space / rooms


Control Books—Guestrooms Control Book

• A master control of guestrooms available for sale to groups; each page or computer screen lists the booking activity and status of group guestroom blocks

• Helps monitor guestroom allotments to groups

• Lists rooms available to groups

• Format consists of a monthly report sheet with space for group's name and guestroom commitment by day

• Both tentative and definite bookings are noted

• Computerized guestrooms control books allow salesperson access either in-house or from a remote location


Control Books—Guestrooms Control Book

• With city wide groups there are typically many sub-blocks

• These are allocated by the main meeting planner or housing company for purposes of tracking individual companies.

• Sub Blocks sign individual contracts and relieve the burden of attrition from the main group.

• Housing Companies are responsible for receiving the individual reservations and will download to hotel on the contracted cut-off date.

• This creates a lot of work for in-house group coordinators


Sales Forms

• Tentative booking sheet—documents that the meeting planner has been given an option on the space and a hold has been placed on the room(s); used if a date has not been confirmed or if details have not been worked out

• Definite booking form—used after business has been confirmed

• Working file—established once a group “goes definite”; includes only information relevant to the event

• Change form—documents changes in dates and/or room requirements

• Cancellation form—confirms cancellation

• Lost business form—details reasons for cancellation


Advantages of an Automated Marketing and Sales Office

• Tedious tasks accomplished quickly and efficiently

• Instantaneous access to sales information

• Personalized mailings

• Risk of human error reduced (@)

• Easier to reorganize client or guest data on the basis of zip code, desired time periods, areas of interest, etc.

• Faster preparation of mass mailings

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• Enhanced communication among properties in large chains (CRM SYSTEMS)

• Frees salespeople from the office; laptops, e-mail, text messaging, and cellular phones allow salespeople to work on the road

• Mostly National Sales Office not local

• Facilitates yield and revenue management

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Advantages of an Automated Marketing and Sales Office


Technical Components of theVirtual Office

• Laptop computer

• E-mail

• Blackberry/cellular phone


Yield and Revenue Management

• Yield management—a technique used to maximize hotel revenue/profits by basing prices for guestrooms and banquet space on supply and demand.

• Revenue management—the practice of assessing a group’s overall contribution to hotel revenue/profits by measuring its impact on guestroom, meeting space, restaurant, and retain revenues, as well as its potential for future business.

• Meets weekly with CSMs to review current room pickup and gain insight into possible loss / gain of rooms.

Documents

© 2011, Educational Institute Chapter 3 Organizing for Convention Sales Convention Management and Service Eighth Edition (478TXT or 478CIN)