Conference & Event Planning Coordinator

SALAMANDER CHARLESTON EMPLOYER LLC•Charleston, SC

About The Position

The Conference & Event Planning Coordinator’s primary focus is servicing Sales bookings for small-to-mid-size group room contracts, rooms-only group agreements, and short-term catering bookings. This position acts as the liaison between Meeting Planners and the hotel staff to provide direction and organization during execution of meeting and banquet events. The Conference & Event Planning Coordinator will be available to guests throughout the event progression and on-site during the events to solve problems and to suggest alternatives to previous arrangements. The Conference & Event Planning Coordinator is the on-site contact and is responsible for the smooth execution of all events. This position plays an important role in the achievement of re-booking group business for future dates while demonstrating effective up-selling skills to obtain maximum profit by developing and maintaining relationships with meeting planners. The Conference & Event Planning Coordinator must be a highly motivated individual who is eager and ready to accept additional responsibilities when needed. The ideal candidate has a friendly demeanor, the ability to learn new computer programs, can multitask and complete projects in a timely manner. This person should demonstrate exceptional customer service and problem-solving skills.

Requirements

Must be able to speak, read, write and understand the primary language(s) used in the workplace.
Must be able to read and write to facilitate the communication process.
Requires good communication skills, both verbal and written.
Most tasks are performed in a team environment.
Excellent interpersonal and sales-related skills.
Exceptional organizational and supervisory skills.
May be required to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form; navigate several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Must possess basic computational ability.
Must possess computer skills, including, but not limited to, accounting programs, Microsoft Word, Excel and Delphi.

Nice To Haves

High School diploma or general education degree (GED); Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Previous hospitality/hotel experience in banquets, food and beverage, catering, etc.
Knowledge of food and beverage products, proper preparation and presentation of food and beverage items.
Knowledge of meeting room capacities, banquet set-up, audio-visual and any other pertinent details as they relate to function room set-up

Responsibilities

Services small-to-mid-size group room contracts.
Services rooms-only group contracts.
Services short-term catering bookings.
Servicing groups includes but is not limited to detailing all Food, Beverage and A/V needs, agenda setting, welcome amenities and VIP requests, managing meeting spaces, and overseeing the billing instructions/process and final review.
Create BEOs, resumes and other necessary materials based on group needs and requests.
Duties also include but are not limited to confirming all expectations from sales agreement are delivered upon, facilitating communication before, during and post-event with pertinent hotel staff to ensure a high level of service.
Assist in hosting site inspections as needed.
Process signed contracts through turnover process from Sales (Accounting, Reservations, Conference Services).
Assist with setting up pre-cons to include, but not limited to: creating name tents, managing attendance, creating BEO and Resume packets, checking space and setting out necessary information, prior to meeting start time.
Attend BEO and Resume Meetings.
Generating 10-day and 30-day reports and distributing to the teams.
Candidates should be extremely detail oriented and organized.
Strong time management & multi-tasking skills and ability to work well under pressure.
Respond to requests by Meeting Planners immediately.
Pre-check room setups, prior to arrival of the group.
Interact with outside planners, vendors for event set-up, load-in, load-out.
Assist and complete additional tasks as needed to support the Sales Team.