Commercial Director, Rome ITALY

Sheraton Roma Hotel & Conference Center 

Location Roma , Lazio, Italia

 

Your Journey Starts Here

Congratulations on finding your new challenge! The Sheraton Roma Commercial Director position is a unique job opportunity with a large hotel property of 600+ rooms with very strong C&E outlets.

Please apply via email at: gabrielli.sergio@sheratonrome.com

Job Summary

The Commercial Director will be charged of establishing a Commercial Strategy covering all segments and channels to ensure maximum market penetration and profit performance.
 
Additional Information: The Hotel is owned and operated by an Independent Franchisee which controls all aspects of the hotel’s employment policies and practices, including the selection and hiring process.

Commercial Director Role and Responsibilities

As part of one of the strongest International Brands, the Hotel is seeking a dynamic Commercial Director to lead the Commercial Team in this property.

The Commercial Director will be charged of establishing a commercial strategy reaching across all segments and channels to ensure maximum market penetration and profit performance.

This role involves continuous communication with Sales, Revenue Management, Events, Marketing, eCommerce and Public Relations Departments in order to effectively align the planning and execution of the commercial strategy. F&B related responsibilities will be shared with the GM, Director of Operations and F&B Manager.

Acting as key support for the GM, the Commercial Director is expected to proactively lead the teams he/she coordinates and be an active advocate of our brand values. He/she will maintain and develop effective customer relations by prospecting new business opportunities as well as exercising positive influence over key stakeholders.

The Commercial Director is accountable for proactively soliciting and handling sales opportunities. He/she ensures business is turned over in a timely fashion for adequate service delivery. The Commercial Director will also assist in leading all proactive day-to-day sales activities, with a focus on building long-term, value-based customer relationships that enable achievement of sales objectives.

Work Duties and Activities

The Commercial Director duties are related to the recruitment, training, engagement and guidance of the commercial team whose performance will be measured against pre-defined KPIs. The Commercial Director will be expected to perform with outstanding efficiency the following tasks:

• Drive Top Line Budget and Forecast through a Commercial Strategic Plan which makes use of all business tools and intelligence resourcefully. Reach and exceed budget across all revenue streams,
• Collaborate with key hotel players (GM, Finance and Operations Director) to ensure profit maximization in line with EBITDA and GOP targets,
• Achieve Positive Group Market Share by optimising Sales and Catering pricing through effective Pricing & Rate Quotation Strategies,
• Support hotel-level marketing by working closely with Director of Sales and Area Marketing teams.
• Ensure maximum exposure benefits for the hotel by aligning objectives with Regional Support,
• Support Revenue Manager by producing an Optimal Market Mix and reviewing forecasts to create strategies for diverse demand periods,
• Generate commercial benefits for the hotel through the engagement of hotel teams and stakeholders,
• Comply with franchise brand standards, communication tools and requirements to preserve identity,
• Ensure commercial strategies are fine-tuned for recent market trends and conditions,
• Be a proactive leader in hotel top-management.

Building Successful Relationships that Generate Sales Opportunities by:

• Working collaboratively with off-property sales channels to ensure sale efforts are proactive, coordinated, complementary and not duplicative.
• Building and strengthening relationships with existing and new customers to drive future bookings. Sale activities include sales calls, entertainment, FAM trips, trade shows, etc.
• Developing relationships within the community to strengthen and expand customer base for sales opportunities.
• Managing and developing relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Providing Event Management with accurate, complete and effective turnover.
• Developing and introducing effective strategy-based action plans.
• Creating a plan for the pre-opening, opening and positioning of the hotel.

Using Knowledge of Market Trends and Target Customer Information to Maximize Revenue by:

• Understanding the overall market – competitors’ strengths & weaknesses, economic trends, supply & demand, etc. and knows how to sell against them.
• Closing the best deals for the property, based on market conditions and location needs.
• Gaining understanding of the location’s primary target customer and service expectations
• Anticipating customer needs by understanding their core business model, issues and concerns in order to offer better business solutions.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will be a proactive client-oriented leader that inspires through action and communication. To successfully fulfill this description, the candidate should have acquired adequate experience, as per the below:

• 4+ years of experience evaluating and identifying commercial opportunities for a business,
• 4+ years of experience presenting sales plans, presentations, etc. to senior level executives and constituent groups,
• 4+ year’s hospitality/travel industry experience in Revenue Generating or Commercial Services roles,
• 4+ experience working in a collaborative/matrixed environment,
• 4+ years working with departmental financial data for strategic/tactical decisions,
• At least 3 years of experience managing a Sales or Commercial team,
• Fluent in English

The following skills would be appreciated and recognized as beneficial in the recruitment process:

• 4+ years working in a multi-complex hotel/travel industry environment.
• Multidisciplinary knowledge and experience in Marketing, E-commerce and Finance.
• Knowledge of local language (Italian) – preferred.
• An outgoing personality that exhibits personal drive and a determination to be successful
• Experience within a branded environment
• A desire to be affiliated with a company and property committed to the success of guests and associates.