Conference & Catering Services Manager

Compensation Type:
Yearly – Highgate Hotels

Highgate is a premier real estate investment and hospitality management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in U.S. gateway markets including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and Honolulu, with a rapidly expanding presence in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Highgate’s portfolio of global properties represents an aggregate asset value exceeding $20B and generates over $5B in cumulative revenues.

The company provides expert guidance through all stages of the hospitality property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate also has the creativity and bandwidth to develop bespoke hotel brands and utilizes industry-leading proprietary revenue management tools that identify and predict evolving market dynamics to drive out performance and maximize asset value. With an executive team consisting of some of the industry’s most experienced hotel management leaders, the company is a trusted partner for top ownership groups and major hotel brands.

Highgate maintains corporate offices in London, New York, Dallas, and Seattle.

The Elser Hotel & Residences is a 49-story luxury condominium hotel located in Downtown Miami. The newly completed tower offers 646 fully furnished rooms/residences, over 19,000 square feet of curated amenities and 5,000 square feet of prime retail space. Named after the iconic Elser Pier, which was built in the 1900s and became the premier place for locals and visitors to enjoy the magical shoreline of Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, The Elser Hotel & Residences will continue this tradition.

The Conference and Catering Services Manager is responsible for driving catering sales and revenue while coordinating and supervising assigned banquet events booked by the sales department. The position requires proactively generating and developing quality leads to ensure growth in catering business.

The primary focus is to cultivate existing accounts and secure new catering opportunities through both traditional and innovative sales techniques. Key responsibilities include booking, selling, planning, and coordinating all social and special events while maintaining the highest level of customer service.

Additional duties include generating revenue, establishing new accounts, monitoring event space availability, securing repeat business, and conducting catering sales presentations and calls to support overall sales growth and client satisfaction.

• Develop a full working knowledge of the operations of the hotel, including Food and Beverage, Guest Services and Reservations.
• Know meeting room setups and capabilities.
• Know sleeping room configurations and types.
• Develop a complete knowledge of company sales policies and SOP’s and ensure knowledge of and adherence to function space and booking policies.
• Meet or exceed set goals.
• Prepare and submit required reports in a timely manner.
• Operate sales activities within established sales expense budget.
• Initiate and follow up on leads and turnovers within 24 hours via telephone and within 3 business days with written correspondence.
• Be visible on the floor and assist staff as needed during functions.
• Respond to requests by Meeting Planners immediately.
• Use the Partnership Agreement to meet client needs.
• Maintain and participate in an active sales solicitation program.
• Monitor production of all top accounts and evaluate trends within your market.
• Conduct departmental BEO/Resume meetings as scheduled.
• Detail events and create floor plans in Social Tables per company standards.
• Interact with outside planners, vendors for event setup.
• Establish a preferred vendor list.
• Develop relationships with local vendors for table arrangements, limousines, photographers, etc.
• Regularly contact existing accounts.
• Meet or exceed sales solicitation call goals as assigned by the Director of Sales & Marketing.
• Assist in implementing special promotions relating to direct sales segments, i.e., parties, sales blitzes, etc.
• Be familiar with all Highgate Hotel sales policies and selling techniques.
• Invite clients to…