Fiona Hunter
Name: Fiona Hunter
Job: Revenue Manager, Crieff Hydro Hotel, Crieff, Perthshire
Date of birth: 29/12/73
Route to job: In just eight years at the 223-bedroom Crieff Hydro hotel, Fiona Hunter has made an impressive rise up the ranks to become the hotel's revenue manager, supervising a team of over ten staff and managing budgets of nearly £4m.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Born in Crieff, Hunter went to the well-known Morrison's Academy school nearby, staying until she gained eight O-grades and three Highers. Her first experience of the hospitality industry was a brief period at the 12-bedroom Horizon Blue hotel in Guernsey from 1990 to 1991. In October 1991 she went back home, and landed a job at the Crieff Hydro as a kitchen assistant, preparing cold foods for the coffee shop.
Her commitment and initiative impressed and in June 1993 she got the chance to use the administration training she had gained at the Morrison's Acadamy by becoming the general manager's secretary. While in this position she developed an interest in the reservation side of the business that has carried her through to the position she holds today.
In August 1994 she became a reservations assistant, quickly grasping a complex booking system for 26 different room types. Almost two years later in August 1996 she was promoted to a supervisor's position in charge of a team of three. Total reservations increased over this period.
Then, in March 1998, she was promoted again to reservations manager, in charge of a team of four. She was responsible for budgets, forecasting, and sales team meetings. A merging of departments at the end of 1999 saw her role change slightly to revenue manager, now incorporating the conference bookings.
In the time that Hunter has been responsible for the reservations department, room revenue and room yields have grown substantially. In 1997 room yield was £34.92 and in 1999 it was £41.06. In the last two years, total room revenue has grown by 15.4%. Hunter is now personally responsible for 40,000 room-night bookings a year.
What attributes do you need to be a revenue manager? "The day varies all the time so more than anything you need to be really flexible. The job consists of a lot of fine details and obviously loads of numerical work. You need to be able to juggle lots of tasks at once and think on your feet. I didn't come from a formal catering or financial background but I've made a point of attending all the training courses available. The job changes all the time and a willingness to accept and learn the new ideas and skills is essential."
