Director of National Accounts

Join the team at Visit Huntington Beach, one of the Orange County Business Journal's 2024 Best Places to Work in the OC!

The Company: Visit Huntington Beach (VHB) is the official destination marketing organization for Huntington Beach, CA. A 501(c)(6) non-profit organization, its mission is to support and advocate for the economic vitality and quality of life for the Huntington Beach community through inspirational destination marketing and brand management. Its programs include marketing, public relations, group sales, visitor and partner services, advocacy, and tourism development.

VHB embodies a community-focused spirit of service that is proactive and strategic. It places an emphasis on teamwork; staff engagement and commitment; diversity, equity, and inclusion; professional development and accountability; community support; and sustainability. The small, but mighty, staff represents the best of Huntington Beach at a professional, high-quality, laid-back luxury level.

The Position: The Director of National Accounts position is one of three Director of National Accounts positions responsible for generating group sales for Huntington Beach hotels and resorts from the meetings market within a defined territory. This includes generating qualified group leads, tracking clients, organizing VHB's presence at trade shows and receptions, and coordinating on-site tours of the city and partners' properties. All aspects of the group sales process from generation to closing the sale is executed by the Director of National Accounts. This full-time position reports to the VP of Sales and is primarily located in the Visit Huntington Beach office in downtown Huntington Beach, with the option to work from home one day per week.

Responsibilities:

• Proactively solicit group sales in the corporate, association, and primary markets.


• Produce group business leads and maintain follow-up contact by servicing calls from potential clients and HB Collection hotels, and by soliciting new business through telemarketing, e-marketing, sales calls, direct mail, newsletters, and trade shows and events.


• Maintain constant and regular interaction with Huntington Beach hotel and resort sales departments, providing regular updates on leads and bookings, while nurturing meeting planner relationships with clientele.


• Manage all arrangements and escort meeting planners during on-site inspections and FAM tours of Huntington Beach to familiarize them with hotels, restaurants, attractions, off-site venues, and services.


• Organize sales trips to local, regional, and key feeder markets, and participate in trade receptions and trade shows.


• Maintain Simpleview CRM (customer relationship management) database for group sales contacts, leads, bookings, lost business, sponsorships, and promotional updates.


• Assist in the development of group marketing initiatives in collaboration with the VP of Sales.


• Adhere to the allocated Group Sales budget in planning and executing travel and initiatives as it pertains to the Director of National Account's market and territory.


• Assist the VP of Sales in producing Sales Department reports, including monthly lead reports, the DMO's annual report, and group sales marketing plan as requested.


• Understand and meet return on investment (ROI) expectations for each trade show/sales mission attended.


• All other duties as assigned by the VP of Sales.

Qualifications:

• BA/BS with an emphasis in hotel management, business, or communications, or equivalent indirectly related work experience with a Destination Management Organization (DMO) preferred.


• Five (5) years of experience in a sales position in a hotel, chamber of commerce, or DMO.


• Must reside within commuting distance of the Visit Huntington Beach office.


• Possess the ability to produce high sales results while meeting and exceeding quarterly and yearly goals.


• Strong organization and time management skills; demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects successfully with minimum supervision.


• Strong sense of fiscal responsibility and accountability.


• Team player who embraces collaboration while balancing adaptability in the needs of VHB.


• Exceptional oral presentation, written, and verbal communication skills.


• High attention to detail, accurate documentation, and follow-through.


• Ability to be tactful and courteous and display appropriate public image when representing VHB.


• Computer proficient in Microsoft Office 365 suite of products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), internet browsers, Simpleview CRM, CVENT or similar programs.


• Knowledge and familiarity of Huntington Beach and Orange County is a plus.


• Must have access to a vehicle for use while on DMO business, with valid driver's license and auto insurance.


• Ability to travel independently to domestic and sometimes international destinations.


• Must be free to travel as needed to carry out DMO goals.


• Work hours vary and may require evenings and weekends.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.


• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.


• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.


• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.


• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.


• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.


• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.


• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with several ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).


• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.


• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Market competitive salary with incentive plan;


• Health, vision, and dental insurance;


• Flexible Spending Account (FSA);


• Retirement plan with employer contribution


• Life & Disability Insurance benefits;


• Paid time off, vacation, and holidays;


• Flexible schedule; and


• Modern, professional, Surf City USA® lifestyle office environment with standing desks and kitchen stocked with beverages and snacks.

Job Type: Exempt

Salary Range: Salary $90,000 - $105,000

To apply, please complete the online application. No calls, walk-ins, direct emails, or direct messages will be accepted.