IHG Sales Hotel Engagement
IHG Sales Hotel Engagement
The IHG Sales team provides a single point of contact to meet the evolving needs of IHG’s key accounts. To get the maximum
benefit for your hotel, it’s important that your sales team gets to know us, communicates with us regularly and works together
with us at every opportunity. Our main role is to identify and pursue revenue volume and market share growth from the accounts
we manage and match the clients’ needs with our hotels. Below are recommendations for you to become more engaged with the
IHG Sales team to increase your revenue opportunities:
1. RFPs
•
Keep your Hotel Profile up-to-date in the i-RFP system, via Merlin.
•
Respond to RFPs before the established deadline date.
NOTE:
Missing a deadline due date is often the key factor in losing the business.
•
Understand the multiple channels for group lead delivery (i.e. MeetingBroker, StarCite)
•
Respond to all group sales leads (either yesor no) within 24 hours. Be one of the first to
respond to the leads!
2. Collaboration
•
Make sure your rates and pricing strategies are relevant for the marketplace you are
competing in and evaluate your offer to make sure it matches/meets the needs of the
key account.
•
Make sure you include full rate descriptions and amenities that benefit clients, when
applicable, such as Free High Speed Internet, Free Breakfast, etc.
•
Visit the Americas Sales Regional Sales Center on
Hotel Visit Days
(an Expo set up on a
quarterly basis). To register for a Hotel Visit Day, please send an email expressing your
interest to
amerregionalsalescenter
@
ihg.com,
and the team will follow up with you for
additional details.
•
Communicate relevant information to the sales team members and help them
understand the key value proposition your hotel offers to the account – help them
“tell the story.”
•
Share any special promotions or “need dates” with the IHG Sales team.
IHG has a customer communications platform
for key accounts: IHG BusinessSource (
– see page 104.
This website provides us with a way
to communicate in a more efficient and streamlined manner with our key accounts. If you have questions or to submit your
hotel’s group offer, email us at
amerbusinesssource
@
ihg.com.
3. Insight & Information
•
Take advantage of the sales resources and information.
You can access The Sales Source
via Merlin for topics such as Key Account List, i-RFP, Account Profiles, etc.
•
The IHG Sales team frequently sends announcements and invitations via
IHG Mail
for hotel
participation in client events, dates of travel agency sales blitzes, tradeshows and
call programs. Read your
IHG Mail
frequently, and have your sales staff do the same.
•
Make sure your Groups & Meetings web page
)
is accurate and
up-to-date with your meeting room capacities, dimensions and square footage
– see page 101.
•
Leverage
IHG Way of Sales
resources to improve sales performance. Get best practices to set
the right goals, guidance to recruit & develop the best sales team and practical advice on how
to develop and win sales opportunities
).
4. Tradeshows & Client Events
•
This Resource Guide includes an at-a-glance calendar of the tradeshows and sales activities.
A complete calendar with additional details is available in The Sales Source, via Merlin, using keyword search:
2013 Americas Tradeshow Calendar.
•
Actively participate in those Americas Sales activities that have the most impact for your hotel.
– Tradeshows – Call programs – Client events – Sales blitzes
Reminder:
For a sales contact roster, access The Sales Source via Merlin (
and type in the exact site
search for Americas Sales Team Roster.
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