At Valor Hospitality, we love to invest in our people. We want to ensure they are happy, healthy and have a good work-life balance. According to Knight Frank, employee happiness has been reported to increase sales by 37%, and we know that an engaged team that enjoys their work is the key to success.
However, this has not always been the case for the hospitality industry. With a responsibility for maximising revenue and increasing occupancy or event bookings, sales and marketing has a lot of influence on the success of a hotel.
In some instances, the traditional sales role in hotels would involve a lot of cold-calling, tough targets, long hours and travelling far and wide to secure opportunities, such as attending wedding fairs or visiting clients to secure conference bookings. It wasn’t unusual to aim for 100 appointments per month to showcase products. Inevitably, all of this led to a risk of stress and burnout.
However, the industry has improved vastly in the wake of the pandemic, embracing flexible working. Karen Mills, Valor Area Sales Director explains more:
“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, flexibility has improved across the whole hospitality industry, but Valor has really got it right. We’re able to work part time, around commitments, or from home when we need to. It allows parents to be there for the important moments, and my work-life balance is my number one priority – Valor has given me that in spades. Outside of working flexibly, we run several initiatives like Wellness Wednesday and Healthy Habits to ensure we’re all looking after our physical and mental health.”
Modern day sales
Today, digitalisation has completely transformed the industry. Sales teams can work online, over Microsoft Teams or over email. While there is still value in meeting people face-to-face and spending time in hotel properties, the ability to work and make connections online has led to team members being able to spend more time with family and friends.
Although the tools have changed, sales are still all about building relationships. Karen says:
“People do buy from people, but how we do that has completely changed in the age of digitalisation. 20 years ago, we’d use the yellow pages and cold call, whereas now we can make a softer, initial connection via email or LinkedIn. Our results are based on quality activity that drives sales, rather than rushing around to networking events to bump up appointment targets.”
Nicola Woolley, Area Sales Director, UK, echoes this, adding how the age of online connections makes the team more strategic:
“The nature of how we sell has changed. We’re no longer spending time taking out print advertisements or making lots of appointments per week. Instead, we are able to offer online booking, and connecting with people through different channels. We’ve really relaxed the way we deal with people, and we work in synergy with each other to drive results.”
Chris Young, Area Sales Director, UK, shared his thoughts on the values needed for a career in sales at Valor:
“To work in hospitality sales, you need to be driven, determined, resilient and curious. You need to be marketing savvy and confident. Within Valor, integrity and honesty is a huge thing, as we work closely with each other. You also need to be a great listener!”
Ultimately, although the age of working online has allowed sales to become a more flexible role, where team members can manage their own diaries and make connections online, the core values of the industry are still the same. You need to be a revenue-driven people person, with a passion for building and nurturing relationships, and a resilience to keep going.
If you’re interested in a career in sales at Valor Hospitality and want to find out more about how we invest in our people so they can feel happy and productive, visit: https://valorhospitality.com/join-our-team/