Hotel sales and marketing teams in need of an overhaul now have a consultant they can turn to for advice and guidance.
Former Rocco Forte Collection global director of sales and marketing, Mark Allvey, has recognised that many hotel sales and marketing teams are struggling during the current economic crisis – particularly those in the Gulf that until now, have witnessed exponential demand.
In response to this situation, he’s established a consultancy that aims to troubleshoot and get hotel sales and marketing strategies back on track.
“I can offer a complete solution in terms of coming in and reviewing the sales and marketing set up of a hotel,” he told Hotelier Middle East in an exclusive interview.
“I can look at the sales and marketing team structure and look at its strategy by market segment, helping them put together effective sales activity plans by market segment.”
Allvey said he could compile a three-month strategy for each member of the sales team and help raise the profile of a property to the right customers in the right markets.
“I can also liaise with high-end tour operators in the leisure market, help with their corporate RFPs and work on hotel pre-opening sales strategies,” he added.
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Given Allvey’s 20 years’ experience in the luxury hotel sector, with senior roles at Rocco Forte Collection and One&Only and on-property roles at luxury hotels in Singapore, Vancouver and London, he will mainly be targeting four- and five-star hotels with his services.
Since leaving the company a few months ago in order to embark on this new challenge, Allvey has already picked up three hotel consultancy accounts of note – the luxury townhouse St James’s Hotel and Club in London; Castiglion del Bosco - a 4500-acre private membership estate in Tuscany, Italy; and The Atlantic Hotel in Jersey, The Channel Islands.
He is now turning his attentions to the Gulf – a market with which he became familiar during his time at The Rocco Forte Collection, promoting the group’s 12 European hotels and preparing to open two new properties in the region; one in Abu Dhabi and in Jeddah.
Allvey said hotels in the GCC had until now, “had the luxury of being reactive to the telephone” given that demand was strong.
“But now there is a job to be done,” he said. “We need to change the mindset of sales staff through training and instilling some confidence in their ability to proactively cold call and diversify their markets – that’s a skill a lot of these sales people do not possess. Right now, prospecting is key.”
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