Hotel Sales Manager Training
Sales managers lead a hotel into fresh business deals and lucrative group events. Hotel sales managers are experts in the field: They assign sales territories to sales associates and analyze sales statistics that their staff accumulate and report. A hotel sales manager requires real-world training in the hotel industry as well as classroom-like training in management programs or schools.
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Education
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Hiring manager prefer to hire a candidate with a bachelor or master's degree in hospitality. For larger, luxury hotels, hiring managers seek aspiring sales managers with at least a bachelor's degree in hospitality or hotel management. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, some hotels prefer a candidate with a master's degree in hospitality. Without a formal higher education, human resource department personnel look for candidates with significant (at least five years) hotel industry experience in a sales, marketing or advertising department.
Experience
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Hiring managers seek candidates with some real world experience in the hotel industry. A sales manager--who deals constantly with clients, business deals and profit margins--benefits from real hotel industry sales experience, whether it's a job or internship. Hiring managers tend to invite applicants with formal internship or part-time work experience to hotel interviews. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010-11 report, most U.S. degree programs include work-study opportunities. At limited-service hotels, which offer fewer services and amenities, employers search for sales applicants with at least some experience in hospitality management and sales.
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Training Programs
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 500 educational facilities across the United States provide academic training for aspiring hotel management positions. Approximately 100 hospitality management programs in the U.S. are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (acpha-cahm.org). Technical institutes, vocational and trade schools, colleges and online degree programs provide courses in hospitality management from restaurant or maintenance management to marketing and sales management.
Computer Training
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Sales managers are experienced in accounting programs and spreadsheet documents. Sales managers rely on spread sheets, software programs and correspondence to maintain client proposals and deals. A crucial ingredient in training a prospective sales manager is preparing the worker to use hotel computer systems. Each hotel uses a specific software for billing, reservations and sales accounting. Hotel sales managers need to know how to generate and read profit-and-loss reports as well as economic data.
Younger Training
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Schools offer managerial training programs in advertisting, marketing and sales positions. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, as of 2010, more than 450 high schools in 45 U.S. states offer the Lodging Management Program created by the association's educational institute. A two-year management program for high school juniors and seniors, the curriculum trains aspiring hotel industry managers in the principles of the business and in how to appeal to clients and generate sales ideas like hotel room incentives and group deals. Select U.S. colleges and universities award participants credit toward post-secondary degrees in hotel management.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit sales manager checking the sales image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com stacked books image by Chad McDermott from Fotolia.com hotel image by les sanders from Fotolia.com computer worker image by PD-Images.com from Fotolia.com school image by Jerome Dancette from Fotolia.com
