Reservations Specialist

Compensation Type

Highgate Hotels

Highgate is a leading real estate investment and hospitality management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in major U.S. gateway cities including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and Honolulu, with a growing Caribbean and Latin America footprint. The hospitality forward company provides expert guidance through all stages of the property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate has a proven record of developing its diverse portfolio of bespoke lifestyle hotel brands, legacy brands, and independent hotels and resorts with contemporary programming and digital acumen. The company utilizes industry-leading revenue management tools that efficiently identify and predict evolving market dynamics to drive outperformance and maximize asset value. With an executive team consisting of some of the most experienced hotel management leaders, the company is a trusted partner for top ownership groups and major hotel brands. Highgate maintains corporate offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, London, Miami, and Seattle.

Location

The Newbury Boston at One Newbury Street, located in the premier shopping and dining neighborhood of Boston’s Back Bay is an iconic property originally opened in 1927 as one of the first Ritz-Carlton hotels in the U.S. and most recently was the Taj Boston. The building was recently transformed into a 286-room luxury hotel with 16,000-sq-ft of stunning event spaces, signature dining experiences and a reimagined front entrance on Newbury Street.

Overview

The Reservations Agent is responsible for handling reservations, inquiries and cancellations in an attentive, courteous and efficient manner, and quoting available rates to maximize room revenue according to Highgate Hotel standards.  He/she is also responsible for participating in the monthly Rooms Merchandising meeting/ Meeting Forbes Five Star Standards and meeting or exceeding monthly goals set forth by Director of Revenue Management.

Responsibilities

Fundamental Requirements:

• Answer all incoming calls promptly, in an attentive, courteous and efficient manner.
• Answer guest inquiries about hotel services, facilities and hours of operation.
• Book room reservations while focusing on maximizing room revenue and average rate using standard rate quoting scenario at all times. Up sell rooms when possible.
• Enter reservations into the computer according to standard operating procedures.
• Communicate and work closely with the Sales Department concerning group bookings.
• Maintain availability calendar and communicate all relevant information to the operations staff.
• Maintain accurate files and reports.
• Handle all special reservations, to include V.I.P. reservations, packages and discounts.
• Book and block rooms using hotel standards for Group Rooming Lists and Booking Agreements.
• Attend and give input on trends and opportunities to maximize revenue.
• Monitor daily sales activity and alert Guest Services Manager of sold out nights, group status and possible problem situations.
• Post no-show revenue daily, if required at property.
• Process travel agent checks, if required at property.
• Be able to perform all duties of Guest Services Agent and assist at front desk as needed.
• Communicate availability to wholesalers.
• File reservations and group contracts.
• Review Reservations and Guest Requests on a daily basis.
• Send confirmations.
• Process advance deposit/balance sheet.
• Forecast packages according to hotel standards.
• Research travel agent commissions.
• Attend Navis training courses and develop mastery of operating system.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• Experience in a hotel or a related field highly preferred.
• College course work in related field helpful

Physical requirements:

• Flexible and long hours sometimes required.
• Sedentary work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or negligible amounts of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.