HOTELIER AWARDS 2013: Sales person shortlist
The Hotelier Middle East Awards are less than one month away now and it’s time to reveal the shortlist for the Sales Person of the Year, which is a new category for 2013.
In total, 90 hoteliers across 18 individual awards categories have been shortlisted, along with five hotel teams for the coveted Team of the Year Award.
The winners will be announced at a gala event at the world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on October 30.
ASHMITA SEQUIERA, DIRECTOR OF SALES, MEDIA ONE HOTEL
ABOUT ASHMITA
Ashmita joined Media One Hotel at the beginning of 2010 as senior sales manager; due to her team building efforts, commitment and knowledge, she was promoted to director of sales in 2012. She previously worked at several properties in Dubai, including Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Raffles at Wafi.
WHY WAS SHE NOMINATED?
Despite being a corporate hotel Ashmita has delivered impressive results in the leisure segment. She has been able to convince major International tour operators on the uniqueness of Media One which has resulted in the leisure segment producing strongly and giving the hotel business a big boost. Ashmita has been a key participant of the Media One Journey of Development programme, based on which she implemented specific tasks within her team to increase motivation, leading to an increase in the satisfaction score for the sales team in a recent staff survey.
WHAT DID HER TEAM SAY?
“Working with Ashmita is a breath of fresh air as she understands the business. She works with me to get the right price for groups; as she is confident when negotiating with clients to ensure they understand why rates vary and yet she still secures the business. She has been invaluable to training the other Sales Managers to understand the same principals and not be frightened to stand up to the threats of losing the business but to be open and diligent in their dealings with the many corporate clients.” Sahna Shreena , director of revenue
WHAT DID HER GUESTS SAY?
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KYP CHARALAMBOUS, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL LEISURE SALES, ATLANTIS, THE PALM
ABOUT KYP
Kyp Charalambous has held the role of director, international leisure sales since he joined Atlantis, The Palm Dubai in October 2009. The role demands a unique skill set over and above that of a regular sales director – one that is dedicated to driving business through relationships and sales strategies whilst yielding average rate and revenue for the resort.
WHY WAS SHE NOMINATED?
Kyp has led Atlantis to capitalise on the Emirates/Qantas partnership. This has generated terrific growth for Atlantis and his passion for his business and mutual success with his clients make him stand out to all clients and suppliers. In a fast paced, dynamic trading environment, Kyp is always at the fore-front of understanding his market needs, market trends and how collaboratively he can find innovative new ways to work with his clients. Kyp has key market leading client relationships – he makes himself available seven days a week and all hours of the day. Client relationships and his reputation for being flexible and adaptable maintains Atlantis as one of the most trade friendly resorts in key markets and secures the property constant focus in partner's sales and marketing activities.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
Kyp is a perfect example of an amazing leader with a creative mind and positive approach towards business. He is a leader who truly loves his job and respects his team. Kyp is constantly inspires the Sales team, to go over and beyond to achieve targets and to overcome any challenges along the way.” Olga Marusova, director – leisure sales, Atlantis, The Palm Dubai
WHAT DID HIS ASSOCIATES SAY?
“Kyp is a fantastic asset for Atlantis, The Palm, and since joining has further strengthened a team with whom Virgin Holidays has enjoyed an extremely successful and longstanding relationship. He has invested a significant amount of time and effort in building ties with our front line sales and retail agents and never hesitates to make himself available to respond to the most basic queries or provide solutions for the most challenging requests – often in his own time.” Amanda Wills, managing director, Virgin Holidays
Please click through to next page to find out who else is shortlisted…
VIPIN KHATTAR, DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING, GRAND HYATT DUBAI
ABOUT VIPIN
Vipin leads the sales and marketing team at Grand Hyatt Dubai and manages accounts to secure business, while maximising profitability. He obtained a degree in hotel management and catering technology from the University of Bangalore in India and has gained additional certifications in managing sales teams, revenue leadership, selling skills and sales essentials through various training programs.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
Vipin focuses on nurturing talent and has groomed several team members into leadership positions since 2012 with promotions for positions like assistant revenue managers, director of sales, director of conventions and director of sales and marketing. He mentored them into these influential roles to lead greater growth for the hotel. At Vipin’s directive, the sales-team secured business from emerging markets previously untapped including Russia/CIS , Brazil and South Africa with arrivals now seeing positive growth. Moreover, his strategies have increased growth even in existing principal markets like Germany, UK and USA.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
“Vipin is focused on exceeding targets with prompt decision-making yet flexible when required. He assigns tasks emphasizing empowerment, especially to groom me for my next position ahead. Vipin keeps us on our toes and leads by example, his product knowledge is impeccable and his conscientiousness inspires the team.” Felicia Samuel, director of sales, Grand Hyatt Dubai
WHAT DID HIS GUESTS SAY?
“Vipin understands client requirements and services them with a personal touch & value addition. His confidence and urge to provide the best service gives much-needed comfort to clients and delivers every promise for client satisfaction. He is a major asset for Hyatt, appreciating progressively high returns and increasing client chain through customer satisfaction.” Rajendra Dhandhukia, COO, Abbott Truecare Pharma
Please click through to next page to find out who else is shortlisted…
IKUKO IIJIMA, SENIOR SALES MANAGER, BUSINESS TRAVEL, THE RITZ-CARLTON, DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE
ABOUT IKUKO
Ikuko attended UCCR in Switzerland for her postgraduate diploma, where she studied hospitality management and gained a solid understanding of the hotel industry. She then began her career working in hospitality in 1999. After working with several hotels around the world including Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton Tokyo, Hotel Okura, and Emaar Hospitality Group, Ikuko rejoined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre in 2011 as a sales manager of business travel, and has since been promoted to a senior sales manager. She won “Five Star Employee of the Quarter” in 2012, an internal award bestowed upon Ritz-Carlton employees who produce great results and go above and beyond to help their colleagues and guests.
WHY WAS SHE NOMINATED?
In March 2013 Ikuko volunteered to become the project leader for Legal Appreciation Month on behalf of the sales team. The initiative was created to target law firms, so as to increase production and revenue. Ikuko led the team to achieve outstanding results, and used her initiative to engage the law firms in a creative way, and enlisted the culinary team to create a cake for each law firm in the shape of the DIFC Gate and bearing the company’s logo, to raise awareness for the hotel. Ikuko also created a wall-chart for the sales office, with pictures of each team member, and their enrollment numbers vs. targets. She also places Rewards cards and forms on the desks of each team member each month, to provide a visual stimulus and reminder about driving enrollments.
WHAT DID HER TEAM SAY?
“Ikuko is one of the most extraordinary sales leaders I have worked with; a perfect representation of The Ritz-Carlton. Ikuko is dedicated to her job and always willing to assist. She has an amazing relationship with clients and business follows her wherever she goes. She truly cares about guests. She even came to the hotel at 5am to provide a warm welcome with the front desk team. She is highly respected by all operational leaders throughout the hotel. She is the champion to enroll new guests to our RC Reward program and we have seen great success thanks to her efforts.” Katrin Herz, hotel manager, The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC
WHAT DID HER GUESTS SAY?
“We depend on Ikuko whenever we have hotel requirements. She even provides us with leisure recommendations in Dubai and around the world. Ikuko’s work is always quick and precise. She thinks of her customer first, which is easy to express in words, but not as easy to live. Taking advantage of a rare Japanese hotelier in Dubai, we began doing business with Ikuko and immediately regretted that we had not been in contact with her earlier. Whenever there is a last minute change, she provides full support.” Ryosuke Ako, assistant GM, MENARO, Toyota Motor Corp
Please click through to next page to find out who else is shortlisted…
YELIZ HISMAN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SALES, KEMPINSKI HOTEL MALL OF THE EMIRATES
ABOUT YELIZ
Yeliz entered the hotel industry in 1997 when she did a summer management traineeship at the Euro Plaza Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. As a junior management trainee she worked in housekeeping and food & beverage over the summer months. Yeliz joined Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in June 2008 as a sales executive- MICE and progressed to assistant director of sales in 2013. She has seen exceptional career growth since she joined Kempinski in 2000, with a promotion nearly every year since she started with the group.
WHY WAS SHE NOMINATED?
2012 was an exceptional year for Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates and the sales team exceeded the rooms-revenue budget. Part of that success was the number of new key accounts Yeliz personally secured over the past 12 months, most of which had never used the hotel before. Traditionally, the events and groups departments were two independent teams. Yeliz took the initiative in 2012 to merge the two departments to ensure better communication and coordination, which has resulted in improved productivity. Yeliz leads a team of 14 employees and is responsible for all departmental training. As a result of extensive training and coaching over the last 12 months, 10 sales people were promoted, 5 people were transferred to roles in other Kempinski properties and the team successfully guided and developed 5 management trainees and was responsible for training an additional 5 colleagues from the hotel’s sister properties in the region.
WHAT DID HER TEAM SAY?
“Yeliz has one of the best client relationships within the industry. She is going the extra step for our clients, taking extra care of them and fulfilling their wishes and exceeding their expectations. Because of this strong relationship, Kempinski Hotel is the first choice for our clients knowing that they will receive personalised and exceptional service. As a result we have won more business which let us meet or even exceed our budget. Through various training she gained additional skills and knowledge which helped her to even archive higher sales targets. Maintaining a strong point of view but also being flexible are only two of her principles which helped convincing clients to choose our hotel.” Philipp Gaertner, sales executive
WHAT DID HER GUESTS SAY?
“I have known Yeliz for over five years and she has been a pleasure to work with. She has always responded to any request within the shortest time and with the solution, and in most cases with alternatives and out of the box ideas. A few years ago, we used the Kempinski Mall of the Emirates as a temporary office for our regional headquarters, which had been relocated from Austria. She extended every support to ensure the staff did not feel they were not working from an office. All their requirements were met with superbly, which did not go unnoticed by senior executives at IBM.” Stanley Fernandes, IBM Middle East