Director of Sales and Marketing | Luxury Hotel Commercial Leadership | Senior Management | Malta
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS AN ONSITE ROLE. REMOTE LOCATION SELECTED FOR REACH
- Compensation: Up to EUR 120,000.00 p.a. depending on experience
- Requirements: 3 to 5 years in a comparable role in a similarly sized and rated hotel; experience leading multiple departments
- Right to work: EU passport required
- Travel: Approximately 30 to 40% to the US and Europe
- Other: Full, clean driving licence
Sataya Collection is representing a luxury hotel in Malta in the search for a Director of Sales and Marketing. The property has a rooms offering, dining outlets and an events business, and the commercial side of the operation is broad. This role will own it end to end.
You’ll be responsible for how the hotel is positioned in the market, how its brand is communicated and how demand is generated across rooms, dining and events. You’ll set the sales and marketing strategy, build it into the annual budget and be accountable for delivering against budget, forecast and business mix targets. This is a leadership role that stays close to the work. You’ll chair the sales and marketing meetings, support your team in closing business and be present in the key account relationships.
You’ll sit on the senior leadership team and work closely with the General Manager, the Director of Revenue and the Director of Finance. The hire matters because the role links brand positioning to revenue performance, and the right person will bring commercial discipline as well as a strong sense of what suits a luxury product.
Key Responsibilities
1) Strategy, Budget & Commercial Performance
- Set the overall sales and marketing strategy and build it into the annual budget, then manage spend against it through the year
- Submit monthly forecasts to the Director of Finance, analyse forecast performance and take corrective action where needed
- Approve all sales and marketing expenditure
- Monitor the market, identify trends and track the main competitors
- Identify new revenue streams and ways to get more from existing ones
- Work with the General Manager, Director of Revenue and Director of Finance to deliver the hotel’s vision for revenue and positioning
- Support the Director of Revenue on pricing decisions and comp set practices
- Prepare and review end of month reports
- Develop a sales strategy for each market segment and communicate it clearly to the team
- Support the Sales Managers in closing business and take an active part in the process
- Review key account development plans and corporate account rate negotiations regularly with the team
- Build and maintain relationships with key corporate clients and partners, including airlines, DMCs, OTAs, travel agencies and tourist offices
- Stay in regular contact with the hotel’s representative offices to identify opportunities, and monitor their production
- Plan sales trips with the Director of Sales, and attend trade fairs and sales trips where relevant
- Make sure the team has the right information and technology, and monitor input standards in systems such as Opera and S&C
3) Marketing, PR & Brand
- Develop a marketing action plan for each market segment and review how it’s being delivered
- Work with heads of department to understand their marketing needs
- Review all marketing collateral before final approval by the corporate office or General Manager, and make sure print and online materials are current and consistent with the hotel’s style
- Select and negotiate with preferred agencies and photographers
- Build partnerships with like-minded luxury brands, events and companies to grow both revenue and positioning
- Develop the annual PR strategy, generate story ideas and make the most of key initiatives to build media coverage
- Maintain relationships with the corporate PR department and appointed PR companies, and organise press trips and in-house journalist visits
4) Revenue, Reservations, Conferences & Events
- Monitor the rooms selling strategy and refine it with the Director of Revenue, including early identification of peaks and troughs in availability
- Learn from past performance and set strategy to avoid repeating issues
- Track competitor selling strategies and respond to protect revenue
- Grow digital revenue through GDS, SEO and DRM campaigns
- Create and manage a calendar of hotel and corporate promotions
- Monitor adherence to the selling strategy in reservations and adjust selling scripts to encourage upselling
- Set the selling strategy for conferences and events with the team, track enquiry conversion rates and act on mystery shop results
- Grow the hotel’s database through third parties and partnerships
- Set and monitor targets for the team and for individuals, and make sure all sub-departments work towards aligned goals
- Conduct performance appraisals for direct reports and sub-department heads, and review their 90-day action plans
- Build effective teams through clear communication, motivation and training
- Introduce new procedures where they improve the department’s productivity, and monitor holiday planning across sub-departments
- Chair the weekly Sales and Marketing meeting
- Attend the monthly HOD, Debtors and P&L meetings, the weekly Revenue Strategy, Senior Managers’ and Prospect meetings, and the daily Rate Strategy meeting and HOD briefing
Ideal Candidate Profile
- 3 to 5 years in a comparable Director level sales and marketing role in a hotel of similar size and star rating
- Experience leading multiple departments or teams, with sales, marketing, PR, reservations and events all within reach
- Commercial depth in rooms revenue, yield and pricing, with experience working alongside a Director of Revenue and a finance function
- Experience managing a budget and forecast, and a track record of delivering against both
- Familiarity with systems such as Opera and S&C, and with digital channels including GDS, SEO and DRM
- Established relationships, or the ability to build them quickly, with corporate clients, DMCs, OTAs, airlines and travel agencies
- Strong negotiator, able to maximise business potential without putting a deal or future revenue at risk
- A strategic, big picture thinker who looks for new revenue opportunities and is comfortable with ambiguity and change
- A motivating, empathetic leader who takes an interest in people and their development
- Clear, logical communicator and a good listener, who is consistent, reliable and goal-driven
- EU passport holder, willing to travel approximately 30 to 40% to the US and Europe, with a full, clean driving licence
Why Our Client
- A senior leadership position with full commercial ownership across rooms, dining and events
- A culture built around the craft of hospitality and attention to detail
- Close collaboration with the General Manager, Director of Revenue and Director of Finance on the hotel’s positioning and performance
- The opportunity to build partnerships with other luxury brands and to represent the hotel in key source markets
- A broad, varied remit that spans strategy, people, brand and revenue
This represents a confidential search conducted on behalf of our client. Further details will be shared with shortlisted candidates only. Should you not hear from us within 2 weeks please consider your application unsuccessful this time round. We however encourage you to apply for future opportunities.