5 Things a Hotel General Manager Can Do to Help Sales in 2021

While most hotels in 2020 were focused on cost cutting, (thankfully) a key priority for 2021 will be to shift the focus to revenue generation. The general manager can help, and here are 5 easy ways to do that.

1. Be involved in the sales process and meet every sales contact who visits the property, whether it’s for a coffee with the salesperson or for a site inspection. You can even jump onto the zoom call for virtual tours when the client can’t physically visit the hotel. Be prepared. Use their name(s), note something about their event, meeting, or travel needs, and show genuine interest in their business.
2. Rally the whole hotel for key site inspections. During operational meetings, support the sales department when discussing key site visits, reaffirm the value of the potential business, and outline who the customers are and why they are important to every department in the organization.
3. Call three clients every month to help close potential business or to thank them for selecting the hotel. It’s a quick phone call—even leaving a voicemail is fine—and it will help to increase conversion during a buyer’s market.
4. Recognize salespeople when they have accomplished a milestone listed on their individual action plan or they have converted a sales booking, big or small. You can do this through a handwritten note, an e-mail, or a shout-out when the sales team meets. Tell the rest of the hotel team how important the sales role is, reminding them that though it may appear easy, like the glide of a figure skater, there is a lot of preparation and hard work that goes into making a sale.
5. Support the sales team with the right tools to do their jobs. Much of business is now conducted online, from responding to Cvent leads to zoom calls and webinars with clients to virtual training. Sales teams need up-to-date computers, fast internet, special lighting, and quality cameras and microphones for impactful webinars and zoom meetings. These are now basic tools that may determine whether a hotel gets the business or not. Also, as part of their tool kit, salespeople need training since many are transitioning from being order takers to finding and outselling against competitors—new skills to many. If full-on training has been cut from the budget, consider motivational sales energizers that are short and targeted to specific skills that the sales team lacks.

Get involved. Know your sales team and their customers. Rally the whole hotel behind them as a source of support, working together to close the business. Incorporate these actions into your weekly routine, and it will pay off in additional revenue, even in 2021.

"In times of crisis people want to know that you care, more than they care what you know." – Will Rogers, actor and social commentator

Hire Jo-Anne to:

• Conduct a deep-dive review of your sales and marketing organization.
• Develop a strategic plan to manage today’s uncertainty.
• Kick-start your sales and marketing organization for 2021.
• Remove barriers to getting things done.
• Convert the organization to embrace constant change and to thrive in it.
• Engage a trusted advisor for consultation and recommendations.
• Support your leaders with leadership executive coaching.
• Motivate your sales team with brief, targeted monthly sales energizers.

If you would like to hear more, simply reach out to Jo-Anne at
[email protected].

About Jo-Anne Hill

Jo-Anne is an industry expert who founded JH Hospitality Consulting to help hotels around the world dramatically improve revenue and profitability in creative ways. Her strategic thinking, skill, and practical approach to problem-solving come from hands-on experience at companies such as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group, the Dorchester Collection, and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.