Reservations Coordinator (101146-921)

Vacancy Type/Job category
Hospitality/Catering
Department
Warwick Conferences
Salary
£20,092 - £22,254 per annum, pro rata
Location
University of Warwick, Coventry
Vacancy Overview
Permanent position. This is a Job Share, 0.4 FTE (Thur/Fri).
Warwick Conferences offers a range of world-class meeting ad conferences facilities in a lively and attractive destination. We’re proud to be part of the University of Warwick and located on its leafy green campus. An organisation that invests all its profits into social benefit – education for students, or world-leading research to improve lives globally.
Our mission is to ensure that every Warwick Conferences customer is entirely delighted by their experience with us. The role of our dedicated team is to create lasting, memorable events that achieve everything our customers hope for and more. We have endless stories of how our people go the extra mile every day for our customers. Constantly on the look-out for any improvement to make, taking personal pride in their work and supporting each other to deliver their very best. Our entire team works together to develop clever ideas to deliver a unique experience for delegates, for every client.
Want to be part of our team? A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join our team. We are looking to recruit an experienced Sales Manager to join our Sales & Events team.
The Role
Reporting to the Senior Reservations Coordinator you will be responsible for handling and managing reservation bookings from internal and external clients. You will work with the Senior Reservations Coordinator to ensure revenue maximisation at all times providing the highest levels of customer service and an excellent booking experience via online portals, email and phone.
Skills & Experience
You will have experience of working in a hotel/conference reservations function, with knowledge of hospitality IT packages. You will have excellent communication skills with attention to detail and effective time management, and have the ability to negotiate and make decisions. You will be able to work under pressure and be computer literate.
Benefits
As a member of staff at Warwick you can enjoy a wide range of competitive benefits, along with excellent learning and development opportunities including a competitive salary, a generous annual leave entitlement along with exclusive discounts from partner companies and campus retailers. For a full list of benefits please refer to this link: Reward and Benefits (warwick.ac.uk).
Interview Date: w/c 18 and w/c 25 October 2021.
Job Description
JOB PURPOSE:
To coordinate all individual and group bed and breakfast bookings to both internal and external clients whilst maximising revenue for Warwick Conferences.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Operational
• To respond to all telephone and email enquiries for bed and breakfast across Warwick Conferences, ensuring high quality communication at all times.
• To ensure the highest levels of customer service throughout the booking process.
• To ensure all bookings are entered accurately into the Warwick Conferences operating system, with accurate rates and invoicing details.
• To manage all bookings to ensure revenue maximization at all times as directed by Senior Reservations/Revenue Manager.
• To upsell where appropriate, offering additional services to enhance the customer experience.
• Liaise with external hotels when the need arises for additional offsite accommodation.
• Agree pricing strategies under the guidance of the Senior Reservations Coordinator /Revenue Manager.
• Ensure booking websites are continually updated, as directed by the Senior Reservations Coordinator /Revenue Manager.
• To ensure excellent communication is established and maintained with colleagues in Warwick Conferences venues to ensure a seamless guest experience, including Front Office, Housekeeping, and Food and Beverage Teams.
• To communicate daily with the Senior Sales Manager, to ensure co-ordination of conference & B&B bookings.
To undertake any other duties as from time to time maybe required commensurate with the grade of the post.

Person Specification

The Person Specification focuses on the knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications required to undertake the role effectively. This is measured by (a) Application Form, (b) Test/Exercise, (c) Interview, (d) Presentation.

Essential Criteria 1
GCSEs or equivalent (a)
Essential Criteria 2
Experience in a similar role in a similar environment (c)
Essential Criteria 3
Experience of working in a customer service environment (a,c)
Essential Criteria 4
Experience of Hospitality IT packages and demonstrates competent use and experience of IT software packages. (a,c)
Essential Criteria 5
Knowledge & experience of a sales/reservations office within a hotel or conference centre (a,c)
Essential Criteria 6
Excellent written and oral communication skills (a,c)
Essential Criteria 7
Excellent planning and organisational skills to enable the effective management of the workload and attention to detail (a,c)
Essential Criteria 8
To demonstrate the ability to be able to work on own initiative and also as part of a team (a,c)
Essential Criteria 9
To demonstrate the ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with colleagues and customers (a,c)
Essential Criteria 10
Excellent negotiation skills and decision making ability (a,c)
Essential Criteria 11
Excellent time management (a,c)
Essential Criteria 12
The ability to influence customers and colleagues (a,c)
Essential Criteria 13
The ability to develop and maintain excellent working relationships (a,c)
Essential Criteria 14
The ability to meet business/customer deadlines (a,c)
Further Particulars
For further information about the University of Warwick, please read our University Further Particulars .
For further information about the vacancies in the department, please visit the departmental website .
Right to work in the UK
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa in the UK points-based immigration system please click on this link which contains further information about obtaining right to work in the UK and details about eligibility for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa.
The University of Warwick provides an inclusive working and learning environment, recognising and respecting every individual’s differences. We welcome applications from individuals who identify with any of the protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010.

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy

As an organisation using the (DBS) Disclosure and Barring Service to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, the University of Warwick complies with the DBS Code of Practice and undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a Disclosure on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed. More information is available on the University’s Vacancy pages and applicants may request a copy of the DBS Code of Practice.

Closing Date
12 Oct 2021