Senior Event Sales Manager

Hyatt Hotels Corporation; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Room discounts

Free meals during shifts

Free parking

Job summary

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego seeks a Senior Event Sales Manager, Citywide Affiliate Business, to grow local catering and affiliate revenue by targeting citywide conventions and large events. You will lead a proactive strategy, forge relationships with affiliate planners and corporate partners, and work closely with hotel teams to maximize revenue while protecting contracts.

Role requires 2-4 years in hotel event or related hospitality sales, strong negotiation skills, and a track record of

Qualifications

• 2-4 years in hotel event sales or related hospitality sales.
• Experience generating affiliate business tied to citywide conventions/major events.
• Experience prospecting, developing relationships, negotiating contracts, closing catering/event business.
• Strong understanding of food & beverage revenue and meeting room rental dynamics.
• Experience using sales systems, account plans, forecasts, and pipeline reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a sales plan focused on affiliate business connected to citywide conventions and large events.
• Identify affiliate accounts with strong catering, meeting space, and room-block potential.
• Prospect and convert new business from event planners, associations, corporate partners, and destination partners.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of local catering and small-group opportunities.
• Coordinate with catering, event services, rooms, revenue management, and operations for smooth handoff.
• Monitor and report on affiliate performance against citywide/affiliate goals.

Skills

Affiliate sales

Catering sales

Hotel event sales

Negotiation

Forecasting

Job description

Summary

Discover the beauty of San Diego, on the waterfront, in the heart of downtown at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. This iconic hotel features 1,628 guestrooms and 320,000 square feet of event space with stunning Pacific Ocean and city views. We are looking for the very best to join our AAA 4-Diamond Hotel, featured in the Top 10 of all Meeting Hotels in the United States per Cvent.

The Senior Event Sales Manager, Citywide Affiliate Business is responsible for growing local catering and event revenue by identifying, developing, and converting affiliate business connected to citywide conventions, major groups, and other large events.

This role leads a proactive sales strategy that builds relationships with affiliate planners, associations, corporate partners, and primary group contacts. The manager will help protect catering revenue through effective use of approved contract terms, food and beverage minimums, meeting room rental minimums, and timely follow-up. The position works closely with hotel sales, catering, revenue management, and operations teams to turn available space and convention demand into profitable business.

The goal is to help grow local event sales from 15% to 20%, with affiliate business serving as a primary driver. The role is expected to support a projected 5% ROI through stronger revenue protections, improved conversion, and proactive business development.

Key Responsibilities

Grow Affiliate and Local Catering Business

• Develop and execute a sales plan focused on affiliate business connected to citywide conventions, major groups, and other high-value events.
• Identify and prioritize affiliate accounts with strong catering, meeting space, and room-block potential.
• Prospect and convert new business from event planners, associations, corporate partners, destination partners, and other relevant contacts.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of local catering and small-group opportunities.
• Uncover group, meeting, and room-block opportunities that may not be captured through the primary group booking.
• Serve as the primary hotel contact for affiliate planners, providing responsive service from initial inquiry through event handoff.

Protect and Maximize Revenue

• Apply approved primary group contract language that protects hotel catering revenue when affiliate groups book through or alongside the primary group.
• Establish and negotiate appropriate food and beverage and meeting room rental minimums for affiliate bookings, separate from primary group commitments.
• Use hotel space inventory strategically, including offering space released by a primary group to qualified affiliate business.
• Apply approved, tiered food and beverage minimums based on the timing of space release, with greater flexibility farther from arrival and stronger revenue protection as the event date approaches.
• Where space is available and hotel policy permits, move affiliate opportunities forward without unnecessary approval steps.
• Recommend case-by-case incentives that encourage primary groups to direct affiliate business to the hotel, balancing relationship value with revenue objectives.
• Partner with appropriate hotel teams to ensure proposed terms and concessions align with approved commercial guidelines.

Manage the Sales Process

• Qualify opportunities based on revenue potential, space availability, event timing, and operational fit.
• Prepare proposals, negotiate terms, close business, and document activities and forecasts in the hotel's sales systems.
• Maintain consistent follow-up with prospects and active accounts to improve conversion and reduce lost opportunities.
• Coordinate confirmed business with catering, event services, rooms, revenue management, and operations teams to support a smooth transition from sale to delivery.
• Review lost, declined, and converted opportunities to identify patterns and improve the sales approach.

Collaborate and Report

• Work with hotel leadership and sales partners to align affiliate strategy with citywide and convention priorities.
• Share timely forecasts, pipeline updates, account intelligence, and performance results.
• Track progress against local event sales goals, affiliate production, conversion, catering revenue, minimum achievement, and projected return on investment.
• Incorporate relevant best practices, including approaches used by HR Orlando, while adapting them to the hotel's market, space, and business needs.

Measures of Success

• Performance will be evaluated using agreed hotel and department goals, which may include:
• Growth in local event sales from the current 15% baseline toward the 20% goal.
• Affiliate catering revenue and affiliate share of local event sales.
• Qualified affiliate pipeline and new accounts developed.
• Inquiry-to-proposal and proposal-to-definite conversion.
• Achievement of food and beverage and meeting room rental minimums.
• Revenue captured from space released by primary groups.
• Room-block opportunities generated through affiliate relationships.
• Contribution to the projected 5% ROI target.

Salary

The salary range for this position is $105,000 to $115,000. This is the pay range for this position that Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego reasonably expects to pay. Decisions regarding individual salaries will be based on a number of factors, such as experience and education.

Benefits

Hyatt colleagues work in an environment that demands exceptional performance yet reaps great rewards. Hyatt has the best to offer including: paid holidays, vacation and sick leave, medical health care after 30 days of Full Time employment, paid FamilyBonding Time, Adoption Assistance, discounted and complimentary rooms at Hyatt locations across the globe, free colleague meals during shifts, complimentary parking and many more! t

Qualifications

• Significant experience (minimum of 2-4 years) in hotel event sales, catering sales, convention sales, or a related hospitality sales role.
• Demonstrated success generating affiliate business tied to citywide conventions, large groups, or major events.
• Experience prospecting, developing client relationships, negotiating contracts, and closing catering or event business.
• Strong understanding of food and beverage revenue, meeting room rental, event space utilization, and group booking dynamics.
• Experience using sales systems, account plans, forecasts, and pipeline reporting to manage business.
• Ability to balance revenue goals, client relationships, hotel policies, and operational needs.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across sales, catering, revenue management, rooms, and operations teams.

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.