Catering Sales - Manager

Bernardus Lodge & Spa, 415 W Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley, California, United States of America

To solicit & sell catering events (social and corporate) and service key sales/catering accounts for Bernardus Lodge & Spa while continually maintaining Bernardus Lodge & Spa’s reputation as the premier destination for both Social and Corporate events on the Monterey Peninsula. Develop and generate catering revenues in order to meet/exceed the revenue goals, creating & maintaining close client and vendor relationships, provide guidance and leadership to the Catering Administrative Assistant and provide innovative formats for developing new business.

• Sell and service social events and wedding room blocks
• Sell and service local and national corporate meetings (no guestrooms)
• Service key groups/accounts with meetings + events contracted by resort’s sales team as assigned

• Review existing catering department procedures and policies and suggest changes when needed.
• Create and implement different sales strategies to promote new and repeat business to include wedding fair selections, sales blitzes, attending community events, etc.
• Actively Solicit banquet business from all viable sources.
• Evaluate and attend (or assign) trade association events (to include Wedding Fairs) to network and learn new trends in the conferences and event markets.
• Assist Director of Sales and Marketing with hosting targeted groups of wedding and meeting planners for on-site FAMs
• Conduct site tours to potential customers as required.
• Produce proposals, estimates and other event information for potential clients.
• Negotiate and handle wedding and local/social event contracts.
• Negotiate and handle wedding and local/social guestroom contracts.
• Responsible for all aspects of communication of group details, notes, BEOs and resumes.
• Develop and maintain good relationships with all clients by providing superior and consistent services to all clients.
• Develop and maintain good and mutually beneficial relationships with vendors.
• Conduct pre-event briefings for staff and managers as needed.
• Conduct pre-con meetings for clients with all department heads as needed.
• Arrange group activities, décor, transportation, other client vendors and work with client selected vendors to ensure successful events/group programs.
• Maximize resort & catering revenue through up-selling and maximization of resort outlets.
• Reach or exceed budgeted revenue and sales goals.
• Work with Banquet Manager to coordinate desired set-up and execution, communicate special staffing needs, etc. to ensure successful events/group programs.
• Work with the Reservations Department on rooming lists, block pick-up, cut-off dates and attrition.
• Work effectively with all hotel departments, such as (but not limited to) Front Office, Reservations, Accounting, Engineering, Housekeeping, Spa, Culinary and Banquet Departments.
• Review all bills, invoices and statements to ensure accurate and timely final billing to clients.
• Ensures that all contracted groups are meeting or exceeding minimum meeting room rental revenues, monitoring for potential attrition.
• Conduct client menu tastings as applicable
• Ensures all banquet checks are correctly accounted for.
• Makes certain all audio-visual needs are properly coordinated and executed.
• Assists conference clients with “off-premise” (hotel) details as they may affect the hotel service delivery (e.g. decor, motor coach requests and arrival/departure patterns, limousine requests, exhibitor requests, entertainment referrals, golf or sports arrangements, spousal programs, etc.) and informs all supporting hotel departments while maintaining the integrity of the hotel physical plant. All arrangements are to be assessed the appropriate charges to ensure that the hotel receives a fair share of revenue in relationship to the expenditure of time and labor.
• Communicates and facilitates all third-party purchases, rental or leasing of equipment or supportive requirements for conference groups prior to and in advance of the actual date of use.
• Completes all special projects as assigned by the DOSM in a timely manner, while meeting the…