He had a nervous laugh, and worry and fear in his eyes.  He is the owner of a mid-scale, select-service hotel in an incredibly competitive East Coast hotel market.  His story is one we’ve heard a million times, as he sits in his office in the back-of –the-house at one of his 5 properties.  He’s discouraged because he’s hired 3 sales managers in 2 years, and lost all 3 managers to higher paying jobs both inside and outside the industry.  Higher pay…or so that’s what they told him.  But honestly, he doesn’t really know why they were looking in the first place.  Just when he thinks he found someone with longevity that can make a difference…they’re gone.  He’s looking at his hotel’s performance and just can’t seem to gain traction.  In fact, the words he uses are “traction, momentum, and steam” not in a positive frame, but in the “I-can’t-seem-to-gain-it” framework.

The reasoning behind the turnover conundrum in the hotel sales environment varies just as much as the reasons my five-year-old son gives me for why he NEEDS more Legos!  In fact, I could write an entire series of posts on hotel sales turnover… and I just might.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are some thoughts around the hotel sales turnover challenges I’ve been discussing with our hotel partners from Toronto to San Diego, and a few suggestions to spur some conversation.

Could It Just Be the Market? 

Does it seem like hotel sales people just keep cycling through hotels in the market moving from one place to the next increasing their wages or opportunity at each place?  Yes?  I think so too!  This seems to be especially prominent in some of the smaller markets.  One soul moves out of the industry or moves out of the market, and it creates a ripple effect through the hotels in the market.   It can be a little like musical chairs, with one poor hotel left without someone in the seat.  Usually it is the less desirable hotel in the market… the one with a poor reputation for paying or providing a great package; the one that doesn’t pay out their bonus program; the one that has poor leadership at the helm; the one in a “bad” location; or having service challenges; or just the one that doesn’t have a plan and doesn’t actively network and recruit.  Word spreads. So, the question is… if you’re happy with your sales manager or director… how do you keep them from jumping ship when the next cycle begins?  Or at the very least, how do you ensure you’re not the empty chair?

1. Be the Best!

Create a culture and environment of excellence.  Everyone wants to be on a winning team and work for the best hotel in the market.  Creating a consistently positive, rewarding, nurturing and exciting place to be is actually not as difficult as it may sound.  Sure, employees have high demands these days and they are getting higher with larger companies whipping out year-long maternity leaves, paid sabbaticals, more flexible work schedules, etc.  It’s competitive for every business owner and management company for sure.  Learn what works in your market and for your target ideal employees, and figure out a way to make that happen.  Happier, cared-for employees generate stronger results… and they tend to stick around!  Don’t overcomplicate.  Don’t give up because you think you can’t afford to compete.  Do something, because the alternative is being the empty seat and suffering from lack of revenue and profits.

2. Talk to Your Team Members!

Don’t wait until code red, when they tell you they are leaving and waiting to see if you’ll counter-offer.  Make it a practice to keep a pulse on the team.  What makes them tick?  What is motivating them to stay?  What is bothering them?  Learn these things, address these things, and check-in consistently and sincerely, and I guarantee you have a better chance of retaining top talent.  Oh yah… and not to mention… then ACT on what you learn and keep those lines of communication open so they know they’ve been heard.

3. Train & Foster Sales Competency

On the flip side of a hotel sales manager or director leaving the hotel for other opportunities, the other half of the turnover equation (maybe more) is terminated for poor performance.  It’s not productive to hire a new sales manager and expect them to learn on their own on the job.  So much time and money is wasted on this, because very few at the property level has the time or the training themselves to properly train a “green” sales manager.  Invest in some real training and foster their growth.  How many sales managers have you seen that actually fear picking up the phone and calling someone they don’t know?  WAY more than will admit it.  There is training for that!  I had the fortune of having some incredible mentors whom I learned by observing, asking a lot of questions, and being driven to perform.  My mentors also valued investing in more formal training.  It’s not happening at the level it should be in our industry, and the training I had is not as effective for the way millennials learn.  Take a closer look at your training plan.

4. Have a Contingency Plan

Have a back-up plan that can at least fill the gaps needed, so the hotel does not lose steam during this cycle.  When a sales manager or director leaves it is not just the period of time that position is vacant that causes challenges.  It is potentially months before and months after the position is filled.  I call it the “slow decline” from the distraction the sales person has during their new job search, or during that period of time when they know their job is at risk.  Then, there is the ramp up time for the new manager to get acclimated, introduce themselves to clients, build their sales pipeline, etc.  It is a vicious cycle that we know all too well, and not one hotel partner I’ve worked with this year has been immune to it.   Oh and one more thing on the contingency plan.  Act on it quickly!  Don’t hold off implementing because you are “hoping” to fill the position quickly.

Turnover is a topic that deserves attention.  I passionately believe that it does not have to be something hotel owners and leaders just live with.  How can we prevent it?  How can we implement creative solutions for it?  How can we overcome it quickly when it happens?  How can we learn from past mistakes, or the successes of others?  Share with me what you’d like to discuss further.  I’d be thrilled to facilitate more of a conversation around this, and see if together we can come up with new and creative ideas.

Click Here to schedule a FREE “virtual brainstorm session” to see how we can create a plan together for your hotel’s biggest sales challenges!

Amy Infante has been a hotel sales & marketing consultant for the past 10 years working with her clients to navigate the B2B buying process as it specifically relates to hotel sales team success. Amy has developed Plan B Consultants andSales4Hire™ from her passion to provide solutions for business leaders and hotel owners that are tailor made to find top line revenue. Contact: Amy.infante@planbconsultants.com 312-636-7384