Global Account Manager, 3rd Party Online Distribution

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced aloftSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. To apply for a position within the organization please visit our website at www.starwood.jobs. To apply for this position, please refer to job number 60008066 on the job search page.   POSITION PURPOSE

 

Main responsibilities include:

 

Manage the relationship with select Starwood key online 3rd party accounts 

 

Perform analysis for key business decisions and business development activities

 

Drive optimal market share and  revenue through the channel

 

The candidate will work closely with:


Regional Directors of Revenue Management, property Directors of Revenue Management, Regional Directors of Online Marketing and CRM, Directors of Sales & Marketing


Global Sales Organization as a member of this team


Metrics group to obtain and evaluate Starwood performance data

 

Other groups such as Pricing, Revenue Management Operations, E-Distribution Support as needed

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

 

Identify and action opportunities to strengthen the relationship and create reciprocal benefit

 

Lead development and implementation of overall strategy to optimize revenue and foster competitive advantage within the assigned channel account.


Serve as central point of contact for account and internal stakeholders; candidates must be able to effectively communicate with varying levels of management


Analyze production reports to identify availability, booking and rate trends by property, provide revenue analysis results to Starwood Revenue Management team that impact availability and revenue production     

 

SUPPORTIVE FUNCTIONS

In addition to performance of the essential functions, this position may be required to perform a combination of the following supportive functions:

 

Communicate to internal Regional Revenue Management and Marketing teams on successes and missed opportunities


Communicate marketing and promotional opportunities Brand Marketing, Regional Revenue Management and Marketing teams and hotels

 

  Work with property/divisional segment leaders, DORMS and Field Marketing to ensure complete understanding of contract terms, technology particulars and inventory management. 

 

  Escalate rate and inventory issues to hotels for resolution to insure rate competitiveness on the managed channel


Coordinate new participating hotel solicitations, implementation, and any ongoing communication regarding the account with regional and corporate staff


Act as Starwood liaison for customer service information provided from the managed account regarding guest and hotel experiences

 



SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

 

Strong analytical abilities with extensive Microsoft Excel and Access skills. SQL and/or Microstrategy highly desired


Polished oral and written communications skills


Experience with client relationship management

 

Experience managing others a plus


Prior experience with Global Distribution Systems and/or Internet 3rd party channels highly desired


Understanding of hotel pricing strategy and revenue management


Knowledge of hotel back office operations would be a strong plus

 


REQUIREMENTS


QUALIFICATION STANDARDS   Education                

 

Bachelor Degree in Hospitality, Economics, Finance

 

Experience

 

Requires at least 3-5 years related experience