Breaking into Sales in Hotels - Watch out for "Traps"

Here are the trap-doors, hidden cameras, the leaks, spies, ears that you'll never see. Beware, there are no friends.
    I am your "Rabbi" trust no other. The common mistake you make first entering a "professional" sales career in the Hotel Biz is - it isn't. Spies are everywhere. Gossip rules the day in the sales department. Trust no one. Sneeze at your desk and the bellman one hundred feet away will know to rush you a box of kleenex.
   Everyone will pump you for personal information, swear to God to keep it confidential, and spread it around to everyone on the pipeline within an hour. Trust me.
   Use this knowledge to your advantage. Don't think so? Tell your trusted "leak" a falsehood. Not a big one, a small one: your sister has crossed eyes and they are purple. Check out the feed back. I'll bet you hear about it by the end of the second day. I did.
   Trust me, I am the only one you can.
   The General Manager of a hotel is fuedal ruler of the hotel, his/her secretary, no matter how friendly, actually runs the place, and will feed all info you tell her immediately to the GM, no matter what she says or swears to you. Confidentiality be damned. Remember, there is NO such thing inside a hotel executive office.
   Human Resources, (personnel office) is not now, or ever will be your friend. My advice is to avoid them at all costs until you have a personnel matter where a lawsuit may raise it's ugly head with another employee.
   If you are considering a lawsuit, say NOTHING to HR. They are NOT your friends, consult your own personal attorney and say zero, nada, zip to ANYONE inside the hotel every at any time.
   Remember, you are playing poker with HR, and you never want to show HR your own hand.
   More later.
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So you want to be in Hotel Sales? The First Trap...

Not all sales careers in the hotel professions are sales careers in hotels:

• Beware of Management Companies. Here, you are a number, a box of kleenex. I know of Director of Sales, used, abused, and discarded in far-off, less-than-exotic places when the Management Company loses their contracts when the hotel or resort owner FIRES the M/Company. Then, you could be on your own. Find-your-own-way-back-to-civilization, pal. Don't think so, Pal? (trust me)
• Then, there are Franchise Owners (much like working for your local McDonalds owners) Turn over highest here. Staff; expands and contracts at will. That's you. Cousins, uncles, sisters, girl friends are last to go and you are the first to exit in hard economic times.
• There are owners who corral a dozen or more "franchise" hotels, like a 12 or more Burger Kings...no kidding, JUST like em. And they treat their employees the same, like toilett tissue paper.
• Corporate Hotels: you wind up applying directly to their Corporate Offices, Holiday Inn, Radisson and the like. Be careful here, you usually get shunted off to the dreaded Human Resources Office. Remember, this HR division SCREENS OUT, not in. Avoid them, they are the enemy. Find out who issues the "hire" order and sic 'em. If you get an interview, I'll discuss the finer points in a later blog. Tricky. Sometimes, it's what you DON'T say.
• Head Office jobs: For yes men/women only. No one in their right mind with independent thought or action, with any credibility, works or wants to work in the head office. No one with any self worth will last long at a Board Room Table for more than a month, and speak up, saying, " yes, Mr. (Ms.) Bigdome, but I disagree, we should actually go the otherway, ...) and last more than a month. You will be demoted to MOD in a roadside Inn in Media Pennsylvania. Hotel companies are run by egomaniacal fuedal lords who are not used to having underlings second guessing them on anything from color schemes of the bathrooms to Marketing Programs. No exceptions
• Hotel Head Hunters: - Be afraid. Be very afraid. A "Head Hunter" is a search agent, or a so called professional who searches out "talent" in a particular field by a client to see if you are interested in talking to a certain hotel who might be looking to fill their position. They have BEEN KNOWN TO LIE in various occasions. Do your homework. After 40 years of experience and bloody mistakes, I can testify that there are only two I would trust to baby sit my children: one in Scottsdale, the other in a suburb in Dallas. No other. And, there are a hundred out there.

Next editions, What not to say in front a hotel general manager in a sales and marketing meeting.
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In the Hotel Sales Business, Everybody needs a "Rabbi"

So...you think you want to be in "Hotel Sales" do you? There is an old expression in the biz world, everybody needs a Rabbi. Some call it a mentor, some a big brother, back in " the day," we used to call it a go-to guy or girl who knew us inside out. Knew us..everything about us, better than our wives, husbands (almost), the problems in the office, personalities, politics, ugh!
    I'm telling you, IF you want to get into hotel sales, you had better gear-up.
Because in the hotel sales office, no matter how big and small politics is there,
get used to it.
    This column, blog, scandal sheet, whatever you want to call it, consider it, rely on it - is from me - I've been there, suffered the slings and arrows, got the experience, know the dark alleys, carried the guns and knives, fought my way through it.
    Why now, you ask?
    The average hotel is the only modern day existant of the fuedal system I can think of - The General Manager (mangler, I used to call him/her) that I can think of: his rule is law. Forget fair. What he says is law. You work his farm and do his bidding. Few if anyone ever get away with anything.
    The economic crush we just came through crippled hotel sales to a degree worse than I have ever seen since I entered it in the 1960's.
    Now, for the first time, hotel GM's fired Director of Sales. Just canned them wholesale. Many hotels have just dismissed sales staffs and shut entire offices just to save money.
    Make sense? Of course not. Just recently, in the last few weeks, they have now begun to hire them back. BEWARE, the cycle has begun all over again, same tactics, same approach at drawing YOU into a no win game.
   YOU are not a winner, and will never be.
    This blog is designed to forewarn you against all the tricks, problems and pitfalls you will face, many headed your way as you begin your NEW career in the "glamorous" new adventure in HOTEL SALES.
    Be afraid. Be cautious. And...check in with me every couple of days for a new slant on what to watch out for.
    Your favorite Rabbi
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