Sarah Howells
Name: Sarah Howells<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Job: Conference and Sales Manager, Doncaster Moat House
Date of birth: 08/03/74
Route to job: A 2:1 degree in Hotel Management was the catalyst for Howells' career with Queen's Moat Houses. Her third year at university was taken up with a 48-week placement with the company at the Harrogate Moat House and, on graduation in 1996, she returned to the company at the Doncaster Moat House on a fast-track graduate scheme.
Within two months she was already the reception manager and 18 months later she was promoted to rooms division manager. In this role she took overall responsibility for housekeeping as well as continuing with her front office and reception duties.
Recruiting, controlling and motivating a team of 25, she also became the hotel's NVQ and Investors in People co-ordinator. She piloted the "If I were in your shoes.." initiative were all employees spend time in the hotel as a guest and also swap jobs with colleagues, a scheme that has been copied in other hotels.
In October 2000 she was promoted and moved again to her present position as conference and event sales manager. Responsible for arranging the use of the hotel's 30 different conference rooms, she deals with conferences, weddings, banquets and other functions.
In this capacity she leads an immediate team of three but must liase daily with almost every other department in the hotel. She must help plan menus, arrange rooms, manage revenue and actively sell the facilities in the first place.
She is also responsible for forecasting the conference use for the coming months and year, estimating revenue not just for the function suites but also the extra food and beverage and room-nights sales a conference booking may entail.
What do you need to be a conference and sales manager?
"General hotel experience is essential. You do have to have a vast knowledge of your hotel and what you're selling. You need to be very good with people as you're dealing with all the other areas of the hotel as well as all the customers.
