Senior Catering Manager - Wedding Specialist

The Senior Catering Sales Manager - Wedding Specialist at Raffles Boston is responsible for driving catering revenue, primarily focusing on wedding inquiries and leads, while also managing social and corporate catering. This role involves active prospecting, client relationship management, negotiating contracts, and coordinating all event logistics from menu planning to event execution. The manager will ensure client satisfaction and contribute to the hotel's overall revenue stream through effective sales strategies and administrative support.

Must Have

• At least 5 years of catering sales management experience, including wedding planning.
• Ability to effectively solicit and manage accounts in market segments.
• Proficiency in prospecting and closing sales to impact hotel revenues.
• Strong capability in handling wedding inquiries, driving conversion, and managing logistics.
• Experience in preparing Event Orders (EOs) and floor plans.
• Demonstrated ability to meet and exceed sales food, beverage, and rental revenue goals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize, and solve problems effectively.

Perks & Benefits

• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates in Accor worldwide for you and your family.
• Excellent Company benefits including medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
• Personalized development opportunities across Accor's extensive brand portfolio.
• Ability to make a difference through our Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

Company Description

Join the team responsible for crafting a fresh landmark that emphasizes cultural appreciation among colleagues and the pursuit of greatness. At Raffles Boston, we recognize the immense worth of our distinct cultural heritage, and we are dedicated to ensuring that it is comprehended and embraced by each team member. This commitment begins the instant a prospective colleague connects with us and extends throughout their entire journey with the hotel.

Job Description

The Sr. Catering Sales Manager - Wedding Specialist is responsible for effectively soliciting and becoming familiar with all accounts in his/her market segments. He/she is also responsible for prospecting and closing on assigned accounts/territory to positively impact hotel revenues. Primary market includes handling of wedding related inquiries and leads, driving conversion on this business and management of logistics.

The Sr. Catering Sales Manager – Wedding Specialist is responsible for administrative and office responsibilities as assigned in an effort to support the operations of the Sales and Catering departments.

Actively prospect and sell the hotel to local catering market segments while providing the catering department administrative support or duties as assigned. Strong performance from this position will result in greater hotel exposure, client satisfaction, repeat business, and an enhanced revenue stream.

• Attend all required departmental meetings.
• Develop a full working knowledge of the operations of the hotel, including Food and Beverage, Guest Services and Reservations.
• Develop a complete knowledge of company and department sales policies and SOP’s, and ensure knowledge of and adherence to those policies by the sales team.
• Invite clients to the hotel for entertainment, lunches, and tours.
• Assist in implementing special promotions relating to direct sales segments, i.e. parties, sales blitzes, etc.
• Assist in the preparation of required reports in a timely manner.
• Conduct a professional, thorough site inspection of the hotel with clients, exhibiting key features and benefits of the property.
• Use your property’s computerized sales management system to manage the hotel’s business, including (but not limited to) generating reports, entering business, blocking space and building accounts.
• Meet and greet onsite contacts.
• Develop networking opportunities through active participation in community and professional associations, activities and events.
• Review meeting planner evaluations with the Director of Catering to ensure that issues receive follow-up.
• Prepare Event Orders (EOS) as per client needs, as assigned.
• Prepare Event floor plans as per client needs, as assigned.

• Responsible for meeting and exceeding personal sales food, beverage and rental revenue goals, monthly, quarterly and yearly.
• Develop existing clients and effectively solicit new sales prospects and former clients for the purpose of selling catering services and banquet space
• Specifically handle the wedding market and secondarily manage social and corporate catering market
• Develop list of prospective local clients through sales calls, sales blitzes, referrals or inquiries.
• Discuss catering requirements, calculate costs, negotiate price and prepare sales proposals, suggest menu modifications in response to customer needs, and up sell services and resources to clients whenever possible.
• Solicit and maintain ongoing contact with active accounts to promote repeat business; continuous contact with former accounts to identify the need for additional catering services and to solicit repeat business.
• Promote catering services, food and beverage and banquet facilities through direct client contact to maximize profits from food & beverage revenues and meeting room rental.
• Maintain ongoing relationships with hotel clients and negotiates contracts and agreements.
• Establish client base of organizations, associations, social and corporate businesses through direct outside and inside sales effort.
• Clearly communicate details of events to client and hotel departments via banquet event orders and internal meetings
• Conduct tours of the hotel function space and guestrooms; entertain qualified potential clients.
• Present for client events at the hotel to insure a smooth delivery of arrangements
• Accurately forecast individual booking revenues and cancellations; accurately track consumption on all bookings.
• Assist the client in menu planning; coordinate food, beverage, meeting room set-up, and other services as requested by the client; ensure all requirements are communicated and completed to the clients specifications.
• Respond quickly to guest requests in a friendly manner. Follow up to ensure guest satisfaction within 24 hours.
• Approach all encounters with guests and employees in a friendly, service-oriented manner.
• Maintain regular attendance in compliance with Accor and Raffles Boston Standards, as required by scheduling, which will vary according to the needs of the hotel.
• Maintain high standards of personal appearance and grooming, which include adhering to the proper dress code and wearing nametag while working.
• Comply at all times with Accor standards and regulations to encourage safe and efficient hotel operations.
• Adhere to all Fairmont Opera Sales & Catering Standards and procedures including appropriate trainings
• Finalize Programs – Develop menus and agendas, insure BEOs are issued, and complete all pertinent correspondence with outside vendors.
• Adjust function space in order to ensure maximum potential revenues.
• Payment of Functions – Establish payment methods of catered functions.
• Participate in daily lead meeting to maximize revenues and communicate potential new business, weekly catering sales meeting, daily BEO meetings as necessary and monthly department meetings

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• At least 5 years of catering sales management experience including wedding planning.

Physical requirements:

• Flexible and long hours sometimes required.
• Light work - Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move object.

General Requirements:

• Must be able to effectively communicate both verbally and written with all levels of employees and guests in an attentive, friendly, courteous and service oriented manner.
• Must be effective at listening to, understanding, and clarifying concerns raised by employees and guests.
• Must be able to multitask and prioritize departmental functions to meet deadlines.
• Approach all encounters with guests and employees in an attentive, friendly, courteous and service-oriented manner.
• Attend all hotel required meetings and trainings.
• Maintain regular attendance in compliance with the Hotel Standards, as required by scheduling, which will vary according to the needs of the hotel.
• Maintain high standards of personal appearance and grooming.
• Comply with the Hotel Standards and regulations to encourage safe and efficient hotel operations.
• Maximize efforts towards productivity, identify problem areas and assist in implementing solutions.
• Must be effective in handling problems, including anticipating, preventing, identifying and solving problems as necessary.
• Must be able to understand and evaluate complex information, data, etc. from various sources to meet appropriate objectives.
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality of information.
• Perform other duties as requested by management.