We’re looking for enthusiastic, fun, and energetic people who take the work seriously, but not themselves. Let’s see if we’re a fit. We hope so.

Job Summary:
The Catering Sales & Event Manager is responsible for a variety of tasks, including managing the entertainment calendar, coordinating venue events and promotions, supporting local marketing and PR efforts, and collaborating on social media strategies with the Mainsail Lodging and Development marketing team. This role oversees group reservations, sales, and the coordination of catering opportunities, aiming to exceed Bay Street Yard’s catering sales revenue goals.
Key responsibilities include contracting and closing local and social catering businesses, ensuring seamless handovers to the operations team for exceptional service delivery, and actively up-selling opportunities to maximize revenue. The manager implements the brand’s service strategy and initiatives throughout the sales process, fostering customer loyalty by consistently delivering outstanding service experience.

Essential Functions

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

Maximizing Revenue & Managing Profitability

• Identifies, qualifies, and solicits new catering businesses to achieve personal and venue revenue goals.
• Sales and details catering events.
• Understands group and catering forecasting, revenue strategy, room configurations and types.
• Knowledge of event technology (A/V) products, sales, and services as well as F&B to assist clients with menu planning and room set-up while working within the client’s budget.
• Established billing for definite function and ensures deposits are collected.
• Proactively solicits affiliate business associated with citywide events.
• Understands the overall market - competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply, and demand etc. and knows how to sell against them.
• Maximize revenue by up-selling packages and creative food and beverage offerings.
• Identifies and implements process improvements and best practices.
• Gains understanding of the venue’s primary target customer and service expectations.
• Ensures successful performance by increasing revenues, controlling expenses, and providing a return on investment for the owner and the business.
• Manages and books all daily entertainment with the following details:
  • Monitor effectiveness of past performers and crowd interaction
  • Solicit feedback from staff on performers’ effectiveness and professionalism
  • Visit other venues to see performers we might want to hire
  • Manage all Beat Gig entries
  • Work with a marketing team for any imagery needed.
• Manage and organize all the venue events. IE- NYE, Halloween, St Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving Eve, Mardi Gras, Super Bowl, July 4rth, Comedy Nights, Art Festival, Edison Festival, etc.

Administrative & Sales Activities

• Manages the sales efforts for the venue related to catering business.
• Responds to all incoming calls including catering opportunities for Bay Street Yard.
• Close the best opportunities for the venue based on market conditions and venue needs.
• Uses negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close on business and negotiate contracts.
• Designs, develops, and sells creative catered events.
• Identifies and assists with selling, implementing and following-through on catering promotions.
• Promotes accountability to drive superior business results.
• Executes sales strategies and business processes.
• Executes and supports Customer Service Standards and Bay Street Yard’s Brand Standards.
• Executes and supports the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposal, writing contract, customer correspondence).
• Participates in and practice daily service basics of the brand.
• Follow up after venue events to get feedback (survey or phone call?)
• Send a thank you letter to event coordinator. If a larger group or owners are familiar with, the letter is signed by one of owners.

Managing Event Activities

• Serves as liaison between the venue and client throughout the event process.
• Ensures each function set-up meets with client expectations through effective follow-up meetings and communications with appropriate staff members.
• Conducts on-site inspections.
• Responsible for preparing all event documentation and coordinates with operations team and clients to ensure consistent, high-level service throughout pre-event, event, and post-event phases of property events.
• Generate resumes, addendums, menus, Event Orders (EOs).
• Create, review and revise execution guidance, VIP lists.
• Reviews, comment cards and guest satisfaction results with employees.
• Observes service behaviors of employees and provides feedback to individuals and/or managers.

Building Successful Relationships

• Works collaboratively with Mainsail L&D Sales and Marketing colleagues as well as other departments to ensure sales efforts are coordinated, complementary and not duplicative.
• Develop a close working relationship with operations to ensure execution of strategies at the company level.
• Works with the management team to create and implement a catering sales plan addressing revenue, customers, and market.
• Works with the property's Food and Beverage team to develop menus that drive sales.
• Interact effectively with vendors, competitors, local community, catering associations, and other company departments to ensure guest satisfaction.
• Ensures that the property implements a seamless turnover from sales to operations and back to sales while consistently delivering an elevated level of service.
• Ability to assist the operations team on catered events when needed.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

• Serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solutions both prior to, and during the program/event.
• Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
• Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship.
• Monitors the effective resolution of guest issues that arise because of the sales process by creating mechanisms to channel issues to company leadership and/or other appropriate stakeholders.
• Availability to work evening and/or weekends as needed to ensure Catering Sales Site are available during peak need and to be onsite as needed for catering programs.
• Performs other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs.

Qualification Standards

Education & Experience

• Minimum 3 years’ experience working in Banquets/Sales/Catering/Food & Beverage Operations
• Catering sales and our convention services experience preferred.
• Familiarization of the local markets preferred.
• Excellent customer service skills
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Ability to effectively present information to individuals or groups
• Proficient with Microsoft Office programs, hospitality related software, scheduling, payroll.

Physical Demands

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.
• Ability to communicate clearly.
• Corrected vision to normal range
• Ability to drive/transport self and others.
• Ability to travel, domestically and internationally.
• Long hours are sometimes required.

Mental Demands

• Make sound judgments quickly.
• Work on multiple tasks, making appropriate progress towards deadlines.
• Able to work independently, take direction and provide direction to others.
• Manage differing personalities within the office, the hotel, and the community.
• Maintain the highest degree of confidentiality.
• Ability to work effectively in stressful, high-pressure situations.
• Ability to effectively manage challenges in the workplace, including anticipating, preventing, identifying, and solving problems, as necessary.

Mainsail is an Equal Opportunity Employer and it does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military service and veteran status, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.