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Central Reservations Manager - Newbury

Employer
Vineyard Group
Location
Newbury, Berkshire
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
19 Apr 2018

Job Details

Central Reservations Manager - Donnington Valley Hotel

Reporting to: Sales and Marketing Director

40 per week, 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm Saturday/Sunday

As an award winning employer, we believe that investment in each and every one of our staff members is key to the success of our business and happiness of our customers.  As an employer, The Vineyard Group offers support, training and development opportunities to help your career flourish.

The Vineyard Group encompasses The Vineyard, Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa and The Barns Hotel, Bedford. Each property is focused on providing the highest quality of service, food and beverage.

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Central Reservations Manager for our flagship hotels, The Vineyard and Donnington Valley Hotel and Spa, on a full time, permanent contract, working 40 hours per week, as per needs of the business.

Summary of role:

Reporting in to the Director of Marketing & Sales, you will be responsible for the management of the Central Reservations team in the processing of all telephone enquiries, bookings and all administration involved in bedroom reservations. You will work closely with the Group Revenue Manager to achieve bedroom revenue budgets.

Experience:

  • Previous experience working in a Central Reservations office for a multi-site group is essential to the role
  • You must also have experience in supervising or managing a team of over 3 employees and able to give constructive feedback and assist the team members as required
  • You will be able to work in a fast-paced, lively environment and able to motivate a team. You will be pro-active, organized and have the ability to think on your feet and deal with situations as they arise
  • Excellent communication skills, accuracy, multi-tasking and a very high command of spoken and written English are also essential
  • Previous hospitality experience is preferred and if your background is from a different sector then experience of a luxury product is required
  • You must possess a commercial understanding of the role and install upselling into the team in order to maximise every call/sale

Main Responsibilities:

  • Giving clear direction to the Central Reservations team to assist the Group Revenue Manager & Sales & Marketing Director to achieve monthly room budgets
  • Setting monthly Key Performance Indicators for the team to assist in team motivation and driving results
  • Liaising with the Front of House Managers within The Vineyard and Donnington Valley on arrivals, rooming lists and billing to ensure smooth reservation procedures.
  • Writing the rotas for the team and ensuring that regular visits are made to the hotels to maximize product knowledge
  • Assisting the Group Revenue Manager with training and development of the team
  • Pro-actively cross sell venues depending on availability as required
  • Create good lines of communication with the Marketing team to ensure the team are up to date with all marketing activity
  • Processing accommodation enquiries at the current rate and upsell where appropriate, in a manner and tone in line with company standards
  • To be fully conversant with Hart (training provided), Microsoft Office and any other computerised systems installed by the Company
  • Sending accurate reservation confirmations to guests and respond to enquiries via telephone & email within the same working day
  • Arranging additional requirements for guests such as flowers, chocolates, champange etc
  • Arranging and co-ordinating experiences for guests to ensure that we go above and beyond their expectations
  • Ensuring that credit facilities have been set up or third party authorization forms completed where needed
  • Chasing provisional bookings to obtain written confirmation and to stay on top of all brochure requests to ensure that they are followed up within 3 days
  • To negotiate rates in line with the strategy set by the Group Revenue Manager
  • To follow up enquiries and record new business enquiries taken and turned away
  • Keeping all departments within the hotel up to date with any amendments, new bookings and cancellations to reservations or the function sheets once they have been issued
  • Attending weekly meetings at both hotels on behalf of the Central Reservations team and ensuring all concerns are dealt with swiftly and efficiently
  • Identifying a potential sales lead and passing it to the Business Development Team
  • Monitoring availability of bedrooms in the diary and close out availability where appropriate through third party websites
  • Maintaining a relationship with agencies to ensure enquiries are received
  • To be familiar with competitor hotels within the area and visit regularly where appropriate
  • Assess and evaluate mystery shopping results and provide constructive criticism in order to improve measure to enhance scorings
  • To maintain an orderly and efficient work environment
  • To be fully aware and comply with all fire, health and safety and hygiene regulations
  • To abide by Health and Safety Regulations as required by Law
  • Any other reasonable tasks as requested

Personal Specification

For this role it is essential that you have a positive, can do attitude, a large smile and take pride in your work. You must be articulate, well presented, possess excellent communication skills and be an expert manager.

You will need to be passionate about our products, have the ability to work under pressure and be results orientated as well as a good manager.  Good numeric, literacy and computer skills are essential.

Company

Company info
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Vineyard Group

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