Company Description
As a pioneer in the art of responsible hospitality, the Accor Group gathers more than 45 brands, 5,600 hotels, 10,000 restaurants, and lifestyle destinations in 110 countries. While each brand has its own personality, where you will be able to truly find yourself, they all share a common ambition: to keep innovating and challenging the status-quo.
Accor is a world leader in the Luxury and Lifestyle hospitality, with more than 500 hotels in this segment and a large pipeline of exciting openings to come.
Accor has created two standalone divisions with clearly identified expertise, ambitions, and objectives, which leverage on our strengths in order to improve our portfolio of unique and diverse brands, our leadership across most markets and our unrivalled development momentum in new territories.
These two divisions are:
1. The “Premium, Midscale & Economy” division, internally named the “Power Brands” division. This entity includes the brands from the Group’s Premium, Midscale and Economy segments. It is structured around four regions, based in Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Shanghai.
2. The “Luxury & Lifestyle” division, bringing together the Group’s luxury brands, as well as the lifestyle platform, Ennismore. This division, managed by brand, is structured around four “Maison”: Orient Express (based in New York); Raffles & Fairmont (based in Dubai); Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems (based in Paris) and Ennismore (based in London).
The Global Sales Luxury & Lifestyle team, has a critical cross-functional role in the Luxury & Lifestyle division, to support the brands, strengthen Accor’s positioning on this market and boost high margin revenue to the L&L hotels.
Job Description
The Director Strategic Clients Luxury and Lifestyle - UK is part of the Global Sales Luxury and Lifestyle organization. He/She reports into the SVP Strategic Sales and B2B Communication - Luxury and Lifestyle.
His/her mission is to deliver business, value, strategy and visibility to the luxury and lifestyle hotel network through the best partnerships with major Strategic clients and partners (MICE Agencies) and through key luxury events worldwide. His/her strategy and actions will be aligned with the global LL Sales strategy and the hotels and market expectations.
The Director Strategic Clients – Luxury and Lifestyle UK oversees a portfolio of UK-based luxury MICE agencies, in addition to select corporate clients with headquarters in the United Kingdom who book meetings and events. These clients are important for the LL hotels as they generate high margin revenue.
He/she is responsible to create the best opportunities of revenue for LL hotels.
Within the frame and objectives provided by the management, the Director Strategic Clients Luxury & Lifestyle UK holds the following missions:
3. Manage a portfolio of Strategic Luxury MICE agencies in UK
4. Build a high level of relationship with the key stakeholders of the Strategic clients’ portfolio
5. Identify and develop new business opportunities
6. Proactively promote all luxury and lifestyle hotels towards clients’ portfolio
7. Communicate efficiently and regularly with LL hotels sales team and align sales actions based on Global Sales LL strategy and expectations
8. Follow sales budget guidelines and plan activities accordingly
9. Create & execute related sales actions to respond to LL hotels’ need periods,
10. increase production and increase awareness of Accor luxury and lifestyle brands in the market.
11. Maintain full and accurate knowledge of the competitive hotel chains, monitor competitor activity, and adjust strategy according to market needs and trends.
12. Ensure accurate production reporting, Anais (CRM) and database at all times.
13. Manage a close relationship with the key stakeholders of the Accor shared services (Digital Factory, Loyalty, legal, Global Sales PME…)
14. Build strong relationships with industry partners e.g. airlines/DMC’s etc
15. Work closely with the LL sales coordinators
16. Contribute to the LL Sales team spirit and life
Qualifications
17. Master’s degree preferably in hospitality, events management or related field
18. Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the Luxury MICE travel industry
19. Minimum 5-year experience in a similar position e.g. MICE Sales
20. Negotiate with global, multi-interlocutor and multi-cultural clients
21. Proven experience in portfolio management of Strategic and key accounts at C-Level
22. Sales and results orientated
23. Proven track record of revenue growth, key account management, agency relationships and delivering on budgets/targets
24. Capability to manage large/complex accounts
25. Service provider mindset
26. Strong commercial acumen, analytical skills to monitor market new trends and hotel distribution developments
27. Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills
28. Fluent in English
29. Strong team spirit and luxe mindset
30. Capability to build strong and close relationships with customers
31. Contribute positively to Accor's brand image, embody the group's values and embrace the new LL division objectives & mindset
Additional Information
Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
We are an inclusive company and our ambition is to attract, recruit and promote diverse talent.