Anshul Kalawat

I am a hospitality professional, previously I worked in food & beverage and front office operations and currently, I am working in reservations. Over the years, I have honed my soft and technical skills, while my academic background has helped me develop a critical and analytical approach. During my work experiences, I have been part of a team, led teams and also worked autonomously. I am a keen and quick learner, with the ability to swiftly transition into any role. Furthermore, it is my goal to contribute to the hospitality and tourism industry by conducting research, benefiting employers and employees alike. In my current role, I am responsible for group reservations and sales of all the Sarin hotels. Sarin hotel group has a diverse hotel portfolio, spreading across New Zealand. Through the different geographical locations, market segments and brand identity of each property, I have gained immense knowledge of New Zealand tourism and hospitality as a whole.

• Responsible for group reservations and sales of all Sarin Hotels (Double Tree by Hilton Wellington, The Sebel Lower Hutt Wellington, Proximity Wellington Thorndon, Holiday Inn Queenstown, IBIS Styles Invercargill, Proximity Apartments Auckland, The Muse Art Hotel Christchurch, The Observatory Hotel Art Centre Christchurch).

• Train, supervise and lead the reservations team.

• Maintain group blocks, rooming lists and reservations in the system. Prepare for each group’s arrival or meeting room booking, prepare group resume, billing information, deposits, correspondence, etc. Interact with booking contacts as needed. Enter and/or modify group block in system to ensure inventory, stay dates, cancellation policy, deposit requirement, and booking procedure are reflected correctly. Provide and maintain reports and records of all groups during stay and after departure, and follow up on any group inquiries. Stay abreast of current rates, rate changes and all promotions, current facilities, services, hours of operation, etc.

• Act as a primary point of contact for hotels, including coordinating and leading site inspections to assist conversion.
• Prepare proposals/quotes and respond to sales and group enquires. Pitch existing & new upcoming hotels to Corporate Accounts, Government accounts, Airlines, and Industry at large. Maintaining relationships with new and existing clients and business networks to ensure smooth flow of business. Submitting account qualifiers, responding to RFPs and submitting proposals

• Liaise with group revenue manager regarding rates and inventory of each hotel. Contribute to the selling strategy of the hotels, and manage the departments' adherence to achieving that strategy. Understand the competitive marketplace and implement approaches to ensure the hotel stays ahead in the local market. Prepare invoices and ensure outstanding payments are being followed on time. Generate leads & acquiring new business for each hotel via sales calls, lead activation, and networking. Contract management for new & existing accounts including building new contracts, recording contracts in relevant database/CRM, ensuring the accuracy of contracts and renewals when required. Identify opportunities to cross-sell other Sarin Hotels, wherever possible. Reporting (weekly) progress on sales and business development activities.

• Day-to-day working relationship with hotel GMs/Hotel Managers, revenue team, marketing, and reservation teams. Communicate important updates and client requests in a timely manner with all departments for efficient service delivery. Provide sales updates, client updates, events, and industry updates to all the stakeholders in a timely manner to better utilise the opportunity at hand.

• Acquire and collate competitor intelligence from the market about the share of the business, events booked, client utilisation, planned upgrade, scheduled shut down, movement of business etc. Report competition intelligence data to the Commercial Director.