Is it better to do sales or hotel management?

The sales department is the leader of the hotel, and its sales work is directly related to the hotel's operation. Therefore, each hotel pays close attention to sales work, and "sales work is difficult to do" is a common reflection of hotels. . How should sales be done? Do the sales methods of foreign hotel management groups have any reference significance for the domestic hotel industry? To this end, China Tourism News reporter Hou Xin interviewed Yuan Xueya, a senior expert in my country’s hotel industry.

Reporter: You have worked in domestic hotels for many years, and have also worked in foreign management groups. According to your understanding, is there any difference in sales between domestic hotels and hotels managed by multinational groups?

Yuan Xueya: There is a fundamental difference. Most hotels in our country are "people-oriented", relying on "people" to do sales, and implementing target management and performance assessment for sales staff; while hotels managed by multinational groups rely on "systems" to sell, and they focus more on relying on a strict set of sales system for sales. This difference will also be reflected in the salary structure. Most of the sales staff in hotels managed by multinational groups have high base salary, low bonus, low commission or no commission, while domestic sales staff are just the opposite. Some hotels use low base salary and high bonus, and some use low base salary and high commission.

Reporter: What are the pros and cons of these two sales methods?

Yuan Xueya: Because our country’s hotels adopt a “people-oriented” sales method, its biggest drawback is its great dependence on people. The degree of this dependence is levered by the relationship between supply and demand. The worse the hotel business is, the higher the sales staff's asking price will be, and the better the sales staff will feel. For those sales staff with excellent sales performance, the sales department's The manager is most afraid that he will be poached by other hotels with high salaries. Since there is no scientific and strict sales system and management assessment methods, there are often conflicts between sales staff, conflicts of interests within the hotel in the business brought by sales staff, overstepping behavior of sales staff, etc. By the end of the month, the entire hotel The goal was not achieved, but some sales staff received very high bonuses and commissions.

Of course, in the entire sales process, the role of people cannot be eliminated, but the role of people cannot replace the system, the network, or the brand. Because customers’ reliance on systems, networks, and trust in brands cannot be replaced by people. The hotel sales work managed by a multinational group is a systematic project. It relies on a strict system to conduct sales, implements standardized management and assessment of the process, and ensures the stability and continuity of the sales business.

Reporter: How does the "system" sales of multinational groups operate specifically?

Yuan Xueya: It is composed of global brand promotion, global reservation network, sales centers set up in major cities around the world, plus the sales force of each hotel. Advertising, special promotions, etc. are all the main actions of the group, system, sales center and hotel. The work of the sales staff has little subjective awareness and is just an integral part of the entire process of system engineering. The entire process is standardized, the management is scientific, and the goals are consistent with the market plan and business plan of each hotel. Because of this, this system engineering ensures the stability and continuity of each hotel's sales business. During the entire process, communication and cooperation between the various components are crucial, and the personal role of the sales staff has nothing to do with the overall situation. . Under this system, the salary structure of sales staff is based on their position and responsibility. There is basically no commission, and bonuses depend on the hotel's annual operating performance.

Reporter: You believe that hotel sales should rely on the "whole" rather than "individuals", but as far as I know, how many years does it take for a multinational group's sales network to be formed. For example, a hotel management group has its own reservation centers in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and its own sales centers in different regions such as the "Asia-Pacific Region", and this "region" is divided into "North District and East District" etc., there are branch sales centers in this area. The group has such sales centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and other places. This kind of layered sales network cannot be established in a short time.

How long will it take for hotel sales in my country to complete the transformation from "people" to "systems"?

Yuan Xueya: Our hotel managers should clearly understand that "people-oriented" sales is a last resort. When personnel changes, the stability and continuity of the sales business will be compromised. There is no guarantee, and this is currently the biggest concern for hotel managers. This cannot be solved by formulating a special salary policy. The fundamental solution is to implement a sales system that is in line with international standards as soon as possible, establish a standardized operating process, combine sales goals with overall business goals, and improve the performance of sales staff. Work becomes a step in the entire system process. Only by working in this direction can the sales work of our hotels be fundamentally changed. To establish and implement a sales system that is in line with international standards, it must go through an input-output process. This process includes establishing the brand, promoting the brand, managing the brand, affiliated with the global and influential reservation network, setting up sales centers in cities with target market sources, and cultivating a professional sales team. At the same time, great efforts are made to improve the service quality and management level of the hotel through continuous training of all employees, so as to strive for customers to have a sense of identity with the hotel, which is crucial to the success of the hotel's sales on the Internet and sales center. It's important. Hotels managed by a group can be funded by each hotel, and the group can carry out this work in a unified manner. After one or two years of investment and hard work, substantial results will be achieved.

Reporter: At present, hotels in our country still can only rely on personal sales, can you give some constructive suggestions to the hotel?

Yuan Xueya: First of all, we must strengthen professional training for sales staff. Because in the eyes of customers, the level and image of the sales staff represent the level and image of a hotel. The higher the professionalism of the sales staff, the more beneficial it will be to the hotel's sales work. Secondly, we must promote the concept of all-employee sales in the hotel, and make all employees understand that hotel sales cannot be completed by just a few salespeople. Every employee, no matter what department or position they are in, cannot do their job well. If done well, it will directly or indirectly hinder the hotel's overall sales. Vice versa, every employee who does his or her job well is the best promotion for the hotel. Finally, I would like to emphasize and suggest that hotel management decision-makers, in their busy schedules, must set aside some time to think about the hotel's development trend in two or three years, formulate corresponding sales strategies, and cultivate a culture of adapting to changes. Ability, in this way, can make the hotel in an invincible position in the fierce competition.