Director of Catering & Conference Services- P

Summary/Objective

The Director provides strategic and day-to-day leadership for the property’s Catering Sales and Conference Services functions. The role oversees the complete event lifecycle, from initial sales strategy and contracting through operational turnover, planning, execution, billing, and post-event follow-up.

Working closely with the Director of Sales & Strategy, Revenue Management, Culinary, Banquets, Beverage, Reservations, Finance, Marketing, and hotel Operations, the Director will establish Perlen House as a preferred destination for weddings, corporate meetings, social celebrations, and distinctive gatherings.

Essential Functions

Catering & Conference Services Leadership

• Provide strategic and operational direction for Catering Sales and Conference Services.
• Establish departmental goals, performance standards, operating rhythms, and service expectations.
• Align sales commitments, event planning, and operating capabilities across the hotel.
• Maintain visibility throughout the sales, planning, and event-execution process.
• Serve as the senior property contact for significant, sensitive, or complex events.

Catering Sales Strategy & Revenue Performance

• Develop and execute strategies for weddings, corporate meetings, social events, receptions, dinners, and related catering business.
• Own the catering revenue plan, including food and beverage, room rental, meeting space, guestrooms, and ancillary revenue.
• Establish segment priorities, need-date strategies, pricing guidelines, and production expectations.
• Monitor booking pace, conversion, average event value, lead sources, and performance against budget and forecast.
• Implement corrective sales strategies when production, conversion, or revenue falls below expectations.

Wedding Sales Leadership

• Guide the wedding strategy for ceremonies, receptions, rehearsal dinners, welcome events, farewell brunches, and associated room blocks.
• Establish revenue targets, pricing parameters, sales standards, and conversion expectations for the wedding segment.
• Develop relationships with wedding planners, designers, referral partners, and other members of the wedding community.
• Oversee wedding proposals, site inspections, contracts, deposits, minimums, and operational turnover.
• Partner with Culinary, Banquets, Beverage, and Marketing to evolve wedding packages and distinctive experiences.

Corporate & Social Event Leadership

• Lead sales strategy for corporate meetings, executive events, receptions, dinners, milestone celebrations, showers, reunions, and holiday events.
• Establish account-development priorities for local companies, organizations, professional networks, and community partners.
• Guide proposals, pricing, site inspections, negotiations, contracting, and account-retention strategies.
• Identify recurring programs and opportunities to increase event frequency and total account value.
• Ensure corporate and social business supports the hotel’s revenue goals, available space, and operating capabilities.

Conference Services & Event Planning

• Establish the planning process from signed contract and sales turnover through event execution and post-event follow-up.
• Ensure planning meetings, timelines, Banquet Event Orders, group resumes, diagrams, and related documents are accurate and timely.
• Assign and oversee programs according to complexity, size, client needs, and team capacity.
• Maintain effective communication with clients and operating departments throughout the planning process.
• Ensure client preferences, contractual commitments, VIP details, and special considerations are documented and communicated.

Event Execution & Operational Coordination

• Partner with Banquets, Culinary, Beverage, Engineering, Housekeeping, Front Office, and other departments to ensure event readiness.
• Establish standards for pre-event briefings, walkthroughs, change management, service flow, and timing.
• Maintain appropriate leadership presence during priority, high-touch, and operationally complex events.
• Empower the Conference Services team to resolve issues promptly, discreetly, and professionally.
• Conduct post-event reviews to identify service improvements and future business opportunities.

Pricing, Contracting & Space Optimization

• Partner with Revenue Management and sales leadership on catering pricing, availability, rental fees, minimums, and concessions.
• Oversee agreements to ensure rates, deposits, commissions, cancellation terms, attrition, and service commitments are documented correctly.
• Optimize the use of meeting and event space according to demand, event value, setup requirements, and resale opportunities.
• Establish approval parameters and review proposed exceptions for significant or complex events.
• Balance customer objectives with revenue performance, operational feasibility, and the hotel’s positioning.

Food, Beverage & Ancillary Revenue Strategy

• Partner with Culinary and Beverage leaders to develop menus, packages, and enhancements that serve clients and support profitability.
• Establish strategies for maximizing food, beverage, room-rental, audiovisual, labor, and other event-related revenue.
• Evaluate menu performance, customer preferences, competitive offerings, and emerging event trends.
• Ensure Catering Sales and Conference Services teams understand current offerings, pricing, and operational capabilities.
• Develop experiences that reflect Perlen House while remaining financially and operationally viable.

Guestroom & Group Coordination

• Partner with Group Sales, Revenue Management, and Reservations on event-related guestroom opportunities.
• Establish standards for room blocks, cutoff dates, rooming lists, billing arrangements, VIPs, and special requests.
• Monitor pickup and coordinate the timely release of unused guestroom inventory.
• Ensure group arrivals and related accommodation details are communicated to appropriate departments.
• Maximize the combined value of guestrooms, meeting space, catering, and ancillary services.

Client Experience & Relationship Management

• Establish service standards for communication, response times, proposals, planning, and post-event follow-up.
• Maintain executive-level relationships with priority clients, planners, and referral partners.
• Participate in site inspections, planning meetings, and client presentations for significant opportunities.
• Oversee the resolution of escalated client concerns throughout the sales and event lifecycle.
• Use client feedback to improve sales practices, planning processes, packages, and event delivery.

Financial Management & Forecasting

• Develop and manage the departmental revenue plan, operating expense budget, and applicable financial forecasts.
• Provide accurate forecasts for catering, banquet, room-rental, guestroom, and ancillary revenue.
• Monitor deposits, payment schedules, commissions, cancellations, attrition, minimums, and billing requirements.
• Partner with Finance to support accurate billing, reconciliation, and timely resolution of discrepancies.
• Prepare performance reports and recommendations for property and commercial leadership.

Systems, Documentation & Data Integrity

• Ensure accounts, leads, bookings, contracts, traces, function space, and event details are maintained accurately in designated systems.
• Establish standards for sales turnover, Banquet Event Orders, group resumes, diagrams, billing documents, and event files.
• Review reporting and system data for accuracy, completeness, and timely updates.
• Ensure material event changes are communicated promptly to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Use departmental data to evaluate pace, conversion, revenue, team workload, and operational readiness.

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, coach, and develop Catering Sales and Conference Services colleagues.
• Establish individual goals, performance expectations, accountability measures, and development plans.
• Build departmental expertise in selling, negotiation, event planning, financial management, and luxury service.
• Promote collaboration, succession readiness, cross-training, and continuous improvement.
• Foster a culture of creativity, calm execution, accuracy, ownership, and thoughtful hospitality.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Sales, Revenue Management, Culinary, Banquets, Beverage, Reservations, Finance, Marketing, and Operations.
• Lead or participate in catering, forecasting, banquet-event-order, operations, and post-event meetings.
• Ensure commercial commitments are aligned with the hotel’s operating capacity and service standards.
• Communicate business trends, event risks, client priorities, and resource needs clearly to leadership.
• Serve as the connection point between Catering Sales, Conference Services, and event-operating departments.

Pre-Opening, Opening & Stabilization Leadership

• Build the Catering Sales and Conference Services structure, standards, and operating processes before opening.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and prepare the department for sales activity and event execution.
• Develop initial packages, menus, pricing parameters, contracts, planning documents, and sales collateral with appropriate partners.
• Support pre-opening wedding, corporate, social, and planner outreach to establish a qualified pipeline.
• Monitor opening performance and refine sales, planning, staffing, and execution processes throughout stabilization.

Required Education and Experience

• Five or more years of progressive catering sales, conference services, event planning, or hotel leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading catering sales and event-servicing functions in a luxury, lifestyle, independent, or upper-upscale environment.
• Strong knowledge of catering strategy, banquet operations, event planning, contracts, forecasting, billing, and financial performance.
• Proven leadership, sales, negotiation, presentation, communication, organization, and problem-solving abilities.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, with proficiency in Delphi or comparable event-management systems and Microsoft Office.

Key Preformance Indicators (KPIs)

• Perlen House achieves catering, banquet, room-rental, guestroom, and ancillary revenue goals.
• Weddings, corporate meetings, and social events are sold strategically and planned accurately.
• Clients experience a seamless transition from inquiry and contracting through planning and execution.
• Event documents, forecasts, billing details, and internal communications are timely and reliable.
• Catering Sales, Conference Services, Culinary, Banquets, and Operations function as one coordinated team.

Schedule & Work Style Expectations

• Maintain an active and visible leadership presence at Perlen House.
• Work flexible hours based on client appointments, site inspections, event schedules, and business demands.
• Be available for evenings, weekends, and holidays as required by the event calendar.
• Balance strategic leadership with hands-on involvement in priority opportunities and live events.
• Maintain the composure, discretion, responsiveness, and professional presence expected in luxury hospitality.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

• Work throughout office, guestroom, meeting, event, food-and-beverage, and operational areas.
• Stand and move through event spaces for extended periods.
• Attend site inspections, walkthroughs, planning meetings, and live events.
• Use standard office, sales, and event-management technology throughout the workday.
• Work extended or nontraditional hours based on event and operational requirements.