Hotel Sales and Marketing: Segment Mix, Key Accounts and Direct Bookings – Paris, 18–22 Jan 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Hotel sales and marketing is taught in this 1-week course for the managers who own a property's corporate accounts, group and event business, campaigns and direct bookings, and it ends with an Annual Hotel Sales and Marketing Plan for a case hotel. Many hotels chase occupancy with scattered sales calls, unplanned promotions and rising OTA commission, while no one links segment targets, account production and marketing spend in one plan. Participants already run sales or marketing activity and work through case study data from city, resort and airport hotels. The course is delivered by CoreConcept Training Center.

Course Objectives:

• Analyse a hotel's segment mix across corporate, MICE, groups, leisure and wholesale business and set production targets for each segment
• Position the property against its competitive set with a written positioning statement and segment value propositions
• Manage key corporate accounts through account plans, RFP responses and corporate rate negotiation with volume tiers and concessions
• Run the prospecting, sales call and group sales process from first enquiry to signed contract and event order handover
• Shift business toward direct channels by improving the hotel website, digital campaigns, guest reviews and loyalty and CRM offers
• Prepare an annual sales and marketing plan aligned with the revenue forecast and report it through a sales KPI dashboard

Target Audience:

• Managers who own corporate, government and travel agency accounts and their room night production
• Managers responsible for MICE, group and event enquiries, proposals and contracts
• Managers accountable for hotel marketing campaigns, the hotel website, social media and guest CRM
• Managers who lead the commercial team of a single property or cluster and approve the sales and marketing budget
• Managers who handle wholesale, tour operator and leisure partner contracts

Course Outline:

Day 1: The Hotel Commercial Function and Segment Mix Baseline

• Hotel Commercial Team Structure and Sales Office Roles
• Market Segment Mix Review Across Corporate, MICE and Leisure
• Wholesale and Tour Operator Contracts in the Segment Mix
• Competitive Set Selection and Hotel Positioning Statement
• Feeder Market and Demand Generator Mapping for the Property

Day 2: Account Planning, MICE Buyers and Segment Value Propositions

• Key Account Management Tiering for Corporate Travel Buyers
• Corporate RFP Season Calendar and Proposal Response Template
• Account Plan Template With Room Night Production Targets
• MICE Buyer Journey From Enquiry to Site Inspection
• Hotel Value Proposition Canvas by Market Segment

Day 3: Selling Rooms, Meetings and Events in Practice

• Prospecting Pipeline and Lead Qualification in the Sales CRM
• Hotel Sales Call Planning, Script and Objection Handling
• Corporate Rate Negotiation With Volume Tiers and Concessions
• Group Sales Process From Proposal to Signed Contract
• Banquet Event Order Handover to Operations Teams

Day 4: Direct Bookings, Digital Marketing, Distribution Cost and Loyalty

• Direct Booking Strategy and Hotel Website Conversion Audit
• OTA Commission Cost Versus Direct Channel Acquisition Cost
• Hotel Social Media and Paid Search Campaign Calendar
• Guest Review Response Routine and Reputation Score Tracking
• Hotel Loyalty Offers and Guest CRM Segmentation Campaigns

Day 5: Case Study: Annual Sales and Marketing Plan for a Case Hotel

• Case Hotel Brief With Segment History and Account Data
• Segment Targets Aligned With the Revenue Management Forecast
• Sales Activity Plan and Marketing Budget Allocation Worksheet
• Sales KPI Dashboard With Conversion and Production Reports
• Annual Hotel Sales and Marketing Plan Presentation and Challenge

Skills You Will Gain:

• Segment Mix Planning
• Hotel Positioning
• Key Account Management
• Corporate Rate Negotiation
• Group and Event Sales
• Direct Booking Marketing
• Guest CRM Campaigns
• Sales Performance Reporting

Why Attend This Course:

• Deliver an Annual Hotel Sales and Marketing Plan for a case hotel that the general manager and owner can review and adapt to the property
• Decide which corporate accounts, groups and wholesale contracts deserve sales time, using account production and segment targets
• Avoid paying OTA commission on business the hotel website and CRM could win directly
• Share the account plan, sales call and group contract templates with the rest of the commercial team

Conclusion:

Once participants return, the general manager, revenue lead and commercial team can use the Annual Hotel Sales and Marketing Plan to agree segment targets, assign key accounts and fund campaigns before the budget is approved. The sales KPI dashboard gives the monthly commercial meeting a common view of account production, group conversion and direct booking share. After the first quarter, the unit should compare actual production by segment and channel with the plan and reset account priorities and marketing spend where the gaps are largest.