Reservations Manager

Job Description

Summary of Responsibilities:

Position Overview

Reporting to the Director of Commercial Strategy, The Reservations Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership, operational oversight, and commercial direction for the property’s reservations department. This role ensures the highest standards of luxury guest service while driving revenue optimization, conversion, and channel performance across all reservation touchpoints. As a key member of the leadership team, the Reservations Manager collaborates closely with Revenue Management, Sales, Conference Services and Operations to ensure reservation strategies support the brand promise, market positioning, and overall business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategic Direction

• Provide strategic leadership for the reservations department, ensuring alignment with commercial goals, brand standards, and luxury service expectations.
• Champion a culture of service excellence, personalization, and brand storytelling across all guest interactions.
• Develop and implement long‑term departmental strategies that enhance guest engagement, conversion, and revenue performance.

Operational Management

• Oversee daily operations of the reservations office, including staffing, scheduling, training, quality assurance, and performance management.
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of all reservation data, including guest details, billing, comments, and reporting.
• Maintain consistent service delivery across voice, email, chat, and third‑party channels (OTAs).
• Monitor 90‑day house and room‑type inventory and guide the team in strategic inventory management.
• Implement, refine, and enforce standard operating procedures to uphold brand integrity and operational efficiency.
• Monitor guest feedback, identify service gaps, and collaborate with Operations to elevate the guest experience.

Commercial Performance & Collaboration

• Partner with Revenue Management to optimize conversion, ADR, upsell, and cross‑sell performance.
• Support promotional strategies, packages, and seasonal campaigns through effective reservations execution.
• Oversee reservations technology platforms (ACRS, Opera Cloud, OTA extranets) and ensure seamless system integration and functionality.
• Leverage guest data and insights to support personalization, loyalty engagement, and targeted selling strategies.

Team Development & Training

• Train, mentor, and develop a high‑performing reservations team.
• Promote luxury‑focused training emphasizing emotional intelligence, sales finesse, and brand voice.
• Ensure the team delivers anticipatory service reflective of Fairmont’s luxury standards.
• Serve as a brand ambassador, ensuring every reservation interaction reinforces the company’s service philosophy.
• Ensure strict adherence to health and safety protocols established by Accor, local authorities, WHO, and CDC.

Qualifications

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business, or a related field.

• Minimum 3 years of progressive leadership experience in hotel reservations or operations within a luxury hospitality environment.
• Proven ability to develop and execute departmental strategy.
• Experience implementing or optimizing reservation technology platforms, integrations, and automation workflows.
• Background in Forbes Five‑Star or AAA Five Diamond environments preferred.
• Strong understanding of distribution channels, OTA strategies, and digital booking behavior.
• Deep knowledge of luxury guest expectations and personalized service delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to elevate service culture through emotional intelligence, personalization, and brand storytelling.
• Strong understanding of guest recovery, complaint resolution, and cross‑department collaboration.
• Expertise in ACRS, Opera Cloud, Microsoft Windows, and Passkey.
• Knowledge of data privacy standards, PCI compliance, and secure handling of guest information.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into actionable strategies.
• Exceptional communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• Highly responsible, reliable, and detail‑oriented.
• Ability to perform effectively under pressure in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong team collaboration skills.

Additional Information

Core Competencies

• Luxury service excellence
• Commercial acumen
• Strategic thinking
• Change management
• Team leadership and development
• Guest‑centric mindset
• Working knowledge of the brand’s loyalty program and its application to group customers
• Strict adherence to all Health & Safety training, guidelines, and work practices before, during, and after any epidemic as established by Accor, local government, WHO, and CDC
• Flexibility to perform additional duties, tasks, and assignments as required