Key Account Manager

About Us:

Bringing True Hospitality to the world.

We want to welcome you to a world of bringing True Hospitality to everyone. When you join us at IHG®, you become part of our global family. A welcoming culture of warmth, honesty and a passion for providing True Hospitality.

We pride ourselves on letting your personality and passions shine, recognizing the individual contribution you make and supporting your ambition to learn and create your own career path. In making a difference to our guests and owners, colleagues and communities, every day is a chance to create great and unique experiences, in your own way.

With over 370,000 colleagues in nearly 100 countries sharing our values, there’s countless opportunities at your fingertips.

We’re growing; grow with us.

***Remote position. Candidate must reside in the Southeast US and be able to travel up to 40%***

Your Day to Day:

Role Summary –

The Key Account Manager manages sales activity focused on an assigned client/account portfolio within a designated segment (total account management). Sales effort focus is on designated accounts and key to this role is creating, evolving, and driving strategic account plans while developing relationships and networks within the accounts to increase opportunities, conversion, and revenue for our hotels. The Key Account Manager is responsible for interacting with all Decision makers and influencers from their respective accounts as well as IHG Hotel sales teams to deliver revenue from our mutual end user customers. This role requires participation in the building of a working culture to support the IHG Winning Ways of Doing the Right Thing, Show We Care, Aim Higher, Celebrate Difference and Work Better Together. Act as a primary point of contact for assigned portfolio and will be the expert on those customers’ issues.

Key Accountabilities –

• Responsible for developing strategy, growing revenue, achieving sales goals and performance optimization of key accounts and customers share of spend targets within their market segment and/or portfolio.
• Assess accounts and their opportunities, as a result create account plans as per the IHG template and execute strategies and tactics to drive revenue and market share
• Network within the accounts to find key decision makers, their support staff and other relationship opportunities.
• Introduce and promote major programs and promotions as directed to client base.
• Manage RFP (request for purchase) process and implement preferred agreements with target accounts.
• Ensure accurate Account Profiles and Account planning are undertaken at least annually with such templates completed and posted to appropriate communication channels and sales systems
• Work with the appropriate Hotels to ensure clear communication of expectations and goals. For each account as appropriate develop a network of support at key hotels ensuring close working relationships with hotel management and sales staff.
• Update Account and Contact profiles, attach Account plans, ensure ‘live’ information for action.
• Use both account interaction and publicly available tools to monitor competitors' activities as it relates to both IHG and the portfolio of accounts and share relevant information with key stakeholders in line with the IHG counsel
• Achieve individual as well as team revenue goals.
• Educate hotel owners and associates on the segment needs and opportunities.
• Participate in segment projects as assigned.
• Represent IHG hotels at industry events.

What We Need From You:

Education –

Bachelor's or Master’s Degree in Marketing, Management, Business, or a relevant field of work, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience preferred.

Experience –

6-8 years progressive work-related experience in the service industry with at least 4 years in multi-unit or corporate roles in a hotel setting, as well as demonstrated understanding of technical and business knowledge and understanding of multiple disciplines/processes related to the position.

Technical Skills & Knowledge –

• Demonstrated sales management experience in organizing, planning, and executing sales segment plans from conception through implementation.
• Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication skills for the purpose of providing information to clients, vendors, senior management, and staff. Must be able to work effectively at executive level in client companies, possess strong relationship management skills, and well-developed negotiating and persuading abilities.
• Experience with franchise organization preferred. International experience may be required depending on market segment.
• Utilize planning tools such as Plan It and Business Objects and to evaluate and plan individual client brand share growth for IHG.
• Demonstrated knowledge of hotel industry and hotel sales & marketing, business planning, etc., along with strong sales ability, sales management, problem solving and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of competitors’ sales strategies, positions, and initiatives.
• Demonstrated computer skills using sales-related software in a hotel setting.
• Demonstrated understanding of the RFP process for transient accounts.
• Demonstrated knowledge of electronic distribution – both GDS & Internet, hotel operations, central reservations, global sales operations, and CRO/GDS rate loading.
• This role may be office or virtual based with the development and maintenance of accounts being handled primarily via telephone-based communication. It is expected that 70% of an individual’s time will be spent on phone-based activity with 5% travel required.
• When traveling this position will be expected to be completely proficient at working from hotels, airports/airplanes, remote offices and/or locations.

What We Offer

We’ll reward all your hard work with a great salary and benefits – including great room discount and superb training.

Join us and you’ll become part of the global IHG family – and like all families, all our individual team members share some winning characteristics. As a team, we work better together – we trust and support each other, we do the right thing, and we welcome different perspectives. You need to show us you care, that you notice the little things that make a difference to guests as well as always looking for ways to improve - click here to find out more about us.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. IHG Hotels & Resorts provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to an individual's, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. IHG is committed to promoting a culture of inclusion where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. We seek talent from all backgrounds to join our teams and encourage our colleagues to bring their authentic and best selves to work.

The salary range for this role is $73,913.77 to $163,390.49. This is the lowest to highest pay scale we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the pay range will be based on several factors including, but limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs.

**This job is also eligible for incentive pay.

We offer comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), and any other benefits to eligible employees.

You can apply for this role through the link below (or through internal career site if you are a current employee).

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or any other form of compensation that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.