Sales Manager

Job title

Sales Manager

Department

Sales and Marketing

Reporting to

Multi-Property Commercial Manager -Direct reporting

Above Property Sales Team -Support

Date reviewed

June 2026

JOB SUMMARY

The Sales Manager is responsible for driving revenue, securing group and transient business, and managing key corporate, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and government accounts for the three Ethiopian cluster hotels. Working directly with the Ethiopia Multi-Property Commercial Manager, hotel leadership teams, and cluster revenue management, this role is accountable for generating demand, executing proactive sales campaigns, and hitting volume targets across rooms, meetings, and events. The role has clear accountability for building a robust sales pipeline, maximizing account penetration, and fostering a strong commercial culture.

ASSET SCOPE

This role will look after the Ethiopia portfolio of hotels managed by The First Group Hospitality.

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Commercial Strategy and Leadership

·         Develop, lead, and execute the corporate and group sales strategy ensuring alignment with ownership objectives, brand standards, annual budgets, and hotel business plans.

·         Serve as the primary point of contact for key local and international corporate accounts, travel management companies (TMCs), NGOs, and government entities, maximizing revenue through strategic negotiation and preferred partnerships.

·         Ensure that inclusive standard accommodation amenities, specifically zero-cost gym and shuttle services, are prominently highlighted in all corporate RFPs, group proposals, and client site inspections to maximize booking conversions.

·         Actively prospect new business leads, manage the sales pipeline using CRM platforms, and conduct regular client presentations and site visits to convert business.

·         Collaborate with marketing and revenue teams to align sales efforts with direct booking strategies, supporting channel mix optimization and reducing dependency on high-commission third-party channels.

RevPAR, Total Revenue and Market Share Growth

·         Drive RevPAR, ADR, occupancy, market share, and total revenue growth across the portfolio through proactive B2B corporate account management, volume contract negotiations, and targeted local sales initiatives.

·         Generate revenue and capture growth opportunities across rooms, food and beverage, meetings and events, and corporate groups by aggressively prospecting new business leads and converting pipeline opportunities

·         Identify demand gaps, market trends, and shifting customer behaviors by closely monitoring competitor set activities, local city-wide events, and key corporate accounts to shift market share away from competitors.

·         Ensure all commercial and sales decisions balance volume growth with profitability metrics, optimizing the business mix to minimize high-commission third-party costs and elevate account long-term value.

·         Partner closely with revenue management teams to optimize group pricing strategies, corporate rate structures, and inventory controls to secure high-yield corporate accounts and maximize revenue during peak demand periods.

Team Management and Performance   

·         Escalate commercial risks, account production shortfalls, and resource needs clearly to the Multi-Property Commercial Manager and senior leadership team.

·         Ensure strong communication and cohesive commercial coordination between sales, marketing, PR, revenue, reservations, events, and hotel operations teams.

·         Lead sales executives, coordinators, and corporate segments with clearly defined account targets, daily reporting routines, and strict accountability for revenue-generating activities

·         Direct sales executives, coordinators, and segment specialists with clearly defined revenue goals, account portfolios, and strict accountability for daily proactive sales activities (e.g., cold calls, site inspections, and client meetings)

·         Set clear individual and team KPIs (including account conversion rates, call volume, and revenue targets), monitor performance metrics regularly, and implement timely corrective actions or performance improvement plans where necessary

Above-Property and Shared-Service Collaboration

·         Build strong and productive relationships with above-property and shared-service sales, distribution, and loyalty teams to ensure property-level priorities are supported and actioned.

·         Translate above-property sales and loyalty initiatives into local property-level account production, ensuring the cluster hotels receive maximum focus from global corporate channels.

Business Planning, Reporting and Analysis

·          Contribute actively to annual commercial business planning, sales budgeting, forecasting, and corporate rate setting.

·          Prepare clear sales activity reports, account production summaries, and pipeline presentations for senior management and stakeholders.

·         Use data from the hotel property management system (PMS), CRM, and business intelligence tools to track progress against corporate targets, loyalty member enrollment, and lead conversion rates.

·         Track progress against sales action plans, corporate account production, direct booking targets, corporate loyalty member acquisition, and group/MICE pipeline conversion rates.

Operational and Stakeholder Alignment

·         Work closely with hotel operations teams to ensure contracted corporate agreements, group arrival requirements, and special event requests are fully aligned with the actual guest experience, service delivery, and operations.

·         Partner with food and beverage leaders to conceptualize, package, and sell high-yield corporate catering, banquet events, and social gatherings that maximize space utilization and grow total revenue. Ensure sales proposals and corporate collateral clearly communicate inclusive standard amenities, specifically highlighting zero-cost gym and shuttle services, to maximize package and contract.

·         Maintain strong, collaborative relationships with asset management and brand representatives to ensure strategic property alignment and the long-term commercial success of the sales accounts.

 Key Performance Indicators

·         Proactive sales-led contribution toward overall hotel RevPAR, ADR, occupancy, and market share index performance.

·         Delivery of targeted revenue and room night production across corporate, MICE, and group segments against sales budget and forecast goals.

·         Sales-led generation efficiency, negotiation turnaround time, corporate contract renewal rates, and pipeline conversion metrics.

·         Effectiveness in supporting channel mix optimization, driving corporate loyalty sign-ups, and improving direct account management cost-efficiency.

·         Accuracy in sales production forecasting, contract pricing compliance, and the speed of corrective action taken on underperforming accounts.

·         Maintain corporate room nights and MICE revenue in line with the target budget

Maintain pipeline conversion rates in line with established targets