hotel sales training
Hotel Sales Training Lessons Learned From a Top-Tier Real-World Practitioner
Doug Kennedy | October 9, 2024
Real-world insights into today’s hotel sales environment While being a sales trainer for a diversity of lodging providers certainly keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the profession of hotel sales these days, I always capitalize on every opportunity to gain insights from real-world practitioners. One such opportunity recently presented itself when I caught up with Jennifer Daudi, Chief Executive Officer of Invigorate Hospitality, which offers remote sales support to a long and diverse list of hotels across virtually all major brands. Besides overseeing her team of expert salespeople, Jennifer herself has decades of experie...
Avoid Sales “CRM Overwhelm”: Focus on the Three Most Important Things Your Sales Tracking Tech Should Do
Doug Kennedy | June 26, 2024
As I make the rounds conducting hotel sales training, I am afforded the opportunity to peek into how hotel group and event salespeople are using a wide variety of what I collectively call “Sales CRMs.” This is because as part of our pre-training assessment, I get to preview the clients’ sales tech, and when time allows, we have participants do workshop activities in their sales CRMs. As a result, I have seen more if not all of the sales CRM systems offered (or endorsed) by top-tier brands, including legacy systems that have been “rolled up” by tech conglomerates. Additionally, having started in the hotel training field in my lat...
How Hotel Salespeople at Parks Hospitality Group Use Video Email to Close More Deals and Build Stronger Connections
Doug Kennedy | April 11, 2023
By Doug Kennedy As frequent readers of my monthly training articles know, I have been a huge advocate of using a “tech for touch” approach for many years. In training articles, webcasts, and in my on-site hotel sales training workshops, I have provided suggestions for using video email apps to put the “people parts” back into hotel sales. Whereas most sales conversations these days happen in email and in-app message exchanges, personalized video emails allow salespeople to stand out. Sadly, although everyone gets excited about when I first share this concept, too many fail to incorporate it as a regular sales habit. Fortunately,...
Kennedy Training Network Announces Monthly Webcast Training Series
Kennedy Training Network | February 27, 2023
Complimentary Registration Courtesy of Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Kennedy Training Network Inc. (KTN) just announced the launch of a monthly series of live webcast training events focusing on topics related to hospitality excellence, reservations, and sales. Webcasts, which will be presented personally by KTN President Doug Kennedy, will run 30 minutes in duration. Those who register but cannot attend will receive a link to view the recordings. Doug will draw content from all KTN hospitality, reservations, and sales training programs, and will also feature the latest training concepts from his monthly...
Gillis Sales Reports $23M in Actual Revenue for Hospitality Clients in 2021, Increases New Business by 40 Percent
Gillis | March 16, 2022
Remote sales and training become key priorities as hotels address today’s labor shortage DALLAS, March 16, 2022 – Gillis Sales, a remote sales and training organization for hoteliers, reported today that it generated $23M in actual revenue for its client base in 2021 while increasing its client base by 40 percent since the beginning of the pandemic. These numbers indicate that hotels are seeing the benefits of investing in sales to increase profitability as travel resumes. Even as the labor shortage continues, leisure and corporate travel are increasing. To keep up with demand, Gillis is seeing an increase in business as hoteliers t...
How to Set Hotel Sales Team Goals and KPIs in a Time of Unpredictable Demand
Doug Kennedy | September 14, 2021
By Doug Kennedy It’s the time of year when hotel sales leaders are finalizing their budgets for the coming year, and 2022 is certainly a challenging one to set sales goals based on KPIs. First, let’s look at what has been done historically and then explore alternatives. For approximately 10 years leading up to the recent pandemic era, budgets were increased each year, divvied up, and turned into individual sales goals that were then tied to bonuses. With the seemingly endless string of years of an up market, sales bonuses became an expected part of the compensation. Were these sales bonuses truly justified based on performance? O...
“Room to Grow” – A Modern Day Sales Blueprint Provides Tangible Insights to Find and Keep Good Salespeople in Hospitality
Gillis | July 14, 2021
CEO Tammy Gillis brings to market a book that provides the hotel industry with strategic, actionable suggestions to help elevate sales in the hospitality industry DALLAS — July 14, 2021 — Gillis, a consulting, training and sales performance organization for hoteliers, announced today the launch of a new book entitled, “Room to Grow – Not Leaving Sales to Chance.” After 28 years of working in the industry, Gillis founder and CEO, Tammy Gillis, saw the need to re-invigorate sales by authoring a strategic, thoughtful, business-focused and actionable primer to help hoteliers meet revenue goals regardless of the economic environment b...
Hotel Sales Training Insights From a Professional Third-Party Meeting Planner
Doug Kennedy | December 9, 2020
By Doug Kennedy As a hotel sales trainer, I often rely on conversations with top-producing sales leaders when designing the latest “best habits” for hotel sales success for our newest KTN workshops and webinars. Recently, while in Park City, UT to conduct sales training, I caught up with Deanne Vigil, Regional Vice President with HelmsBriscoe over coffee. I first met Deanne over a decade ago as a training client, when she was VP of Sales & Marketing for Hardage Hotel Group. Soon thereafter she switched to the buyer side of the business and I have since watched her career soar as a travel intermediary broker of meetings and event...
