"It" happens everywhere, regardless of the brand, the location or the type of hotel.  "It" happens more at medium and smaller sized hotels (under 100 rooms), but we have all seen "it" at 600 room convention hotels.

The "it" of course is the extent that non-sales jobs the sales staff frequently finds itself assigned to.  The problem comes when the sales manager or team is regularly expected to:

1. Work the front desk all day
2. Work the restaurant as a cashier or greeter
3. Answer the hotel switchboard
4. Set up meeting rooms
5. Go to the bank, the post office, the printer
6. Stuff envelopes for accounting
7. Post the daily function board
8. Run the entire 3 day client meeting
9. and the list goes on........................

Effective managers will want to make sure their sales team is out selling every logical time, though.  Using the sales staff regularly for the above listed jobs might save a few dollars today, but without question it will cost substantially more when there is no new business because the competition "stole" it by having their sales people there in person making the personal contact.  Continual identification and development of new and repeat business cannot be completed by a cashier or front desk agent, but only by a trained and competent professional versed in the hotel's offerings, pricing and selling tactics. 

"It" (in this case, the value of the person responsible for selling) is a matter of financial prioritizing and strategic planning.  Larger hotels find the challenge a bit easier sometimes as they have more support staff.  Owners and managers of every size of hotels must realize that someone must be developing new leads for the future, as competition, the economy and other market changes will erode some of the existing base of business. 

In smaller hotels where the general manager might be the sales staff as well, there needs to be additional staff trained to do the every day business chores so the GM can effectively be out in the marketplace, finding the business to keep everyone gainfully employed. 

The way we all �did business� changed on September 11, 2001 and it is doubtful that we will ever return to the �old ways.�  In times of tight budgets, lower occupancies and financial uncertainty, it remains more critical than ever that sales and marketing efforts be continued and actually enhanced. 
 

John Hogan, CHA MHS is the Director of Education & Training for Best Western International, the world�s largest lodging chain.  His background includes teaching college level courses as an adjunct professor for 20 years, while working with Sheraton, Hilton, Omni and independents hotels.  Prior to joining Best Western International in spring of 2000, he was the principal in an independent training & consulting group for more than 10 years.  He has published more than 100 articles & columns on the hospitality industry and is co-author (with Howard Feiertag) of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD � A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES, which will be available in late October 2001. 

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication or of Best Western International. A variation of this article originally appeared in the July 2001 DIRECTIONS