Hospitality Manager Travel

Dale Wong
604 Harmony Lane
Pleasantville, CA 94588
(925) 555-1234

OBJECTIVE

Seeking a challenging Destination Management, Travel Executive, Hospitality, Hotel Sales, Tourism, Convention, or related Corporate position in which extensive business experience and a documented record of accomplishments will be of value.

SUMMARY

• Skilled in all aspects of travel industry operations, destination management sales, personnel training and management, establishing and maintaining key client accounts, increasing revenues, ensuring quality customer service, coordinating special promotions, utilizing referrals, and related marketing activities.
• Experienced in meeting planning, strong organizational skills, coordinating details for corporate clients, booking restaurants and hotels, special events marketing, theme parties, and related hospitality services. Highly developed client relation skills and able to provide individual clients with appropriate suggestions and recommendations.
• Experienced in all facets of visitor and VIP relations, including researching and arranging a wide variety requests, including tickets, airline reservations, restaurant reservations, secretarial services, car rentals, golf tee times, flowers, gifts, meeting rooms, power lunches, parties, entertainment, cruises, tours (air, boat, bus), banking needs, and private requests.
• Oral and written communication skills in English and basic conversational Spanish, able to produce well-written correspondence, design sales presentations and reports, proven ability to establish a loyal customer base, and extensive travel throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Latin America, Hawaii, and Australia.

EXPERIENCE

International Travel, New Orleans, Louisiana
1999 - Present
Travel Consultant
• Selected to serve as travel consultant for a leading upscale leisure travel firm, featuring extensive international and European travel, with individual tours of up to $125,000, due to travel industry expertise and knowledge. Coordinated leisure travel arrangements for executive, commercial, and corporate clients, including air / ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and related needs.
• Major clients included Magnolia Liquor, Inc., Phister Institute & Zoo, and Tulane University. Responsible for travel planning and customer service. Researched airfares, hotel accommodations, tours, rental car rates, and hotel prices to ensure maximum value for customers.

Fairview Travels, New Orleans, Louisiana
1974 - 1999
Owner / Manager
• Founded, owned, and operated a highly successful travel agency in the historic Uptown Riverbend / University section of New Orleans with up to $3.9 million in annual sales, providing comprehensive outbound retail travel services for individuals and major corporate and institutional clients. Key clients included Tulane University, Loyola University, the Presidents of both institutions, the Jameson Institute, and various area corporations and businesses. Sold the agency in 1998 and contracted to serve as consultant.
• Managed and coordinated all aspects of travel agency operations. Duties consisted of supervising employees in day to day activities, interviewing, scheduling, training, and development of personnel, serving as liaison to corporate national vendors, production of reports, interaction with clients, and coordination of company functions.
• Sold and marketed domestic and international travel opportunities, coordinated group and individual vacation packages, booked group and individual tours, researched and scheduled flights and accommodations, issued airline tickets, and booked reservations. Organized and escorted student and alumni groups to Yucatan, Canada, and Colorado.
• Oversaw accounting, bookkeeping, records maintenance, banking, invoicing, and in-house advertising. Responsible for all aspects of daily operations all aspects of customer service and sales, purchasing computer equipment, hiring and training staff, setting up and implementing mailing list system, sending out brochures and professional correspondence, and all related administrative duties.

Fairview Travel School, New Orleans, Louisiana
1987 - 1991
Instructor / Owner
• Opened and operated a travel agent school with responsibility for New Travel Agent Class Sales, Quality Control, Curriculum Development, In-House Training, Pricing Guidelines, Brochure Production, Classroom Materials Development, Scheduling, and Public Relations.
• Planned and organized special events and seminars for recruitment of entry-level travel employees, implemented training services, and accurately assessed client needs to create innovative training solutions.
• Additionally responsible for classroom management and instruction, curriculum development, lesson planning, evaluating student performance, customizing training programs for specific needs, writing course manuals and all forms, and production of monthly class calendars, price guidelines, and other materials.

Himmel Destination Travel, New Orleans, Louisiana
1970 - 1973
Sales Executive
• Responsible for a wide range of sales and client services, including extensive coordination with Sales Managers of hotels, restaurants, plantations, tours, boat companies, airlines, and transportation firms serving the Greater New Orleans area.
• Personally organized, planned, and sold activities for groups ranging from 5 to 500 people. Assisted with and coordinated client participation in trade shows and conferences, marketing the city of New Orleans as a tourist destination. Primary client base consisted of travel groups, associations, corporations, and VIPs, including doctors, lawyers, bankers, and business executives and owners.
• Responsible for ensuring a high level of client satisfaction through serving as a liaison for all sites, activities, and entertainment within the city. Additionally coordinated all necessary business support and corporate services, as well as guest orientation and information.
• Make suggestions and recommendations based upon assessment of client needs and available resources. Services consisted of researching and arranging a wide variety requests, including tickets, airline reservations, luncheons, dinners, breakfasts, cocktail parties, secretarial services, car rentals, out-of-town drives, golf tee times, flowers, gifts, meeting rooms, parties, entertainment, riverboat cruises, tours (air, boat, bus, walking) (plantation, cemetery, Garden District, Zoo, swamp, historic, etc.), banking needs, and private requests. Also handled any client disputes and refunds when indicated.
• Successfully marketed, organized, and coordinated the International Society of Radio Technologists 2-week international convention for global short-wave radio enthusiasts. The show consisted of 25 exhibitors from throughout the world.

Roadside Inn, Jackson, Mississippi
1969 - 1970
Night Audit Clerk
• Served as full-time Night Auditor for a leading national motel chain location catering to a business and individual travelers. Responsible for closing duties, including balancing daily transaction and activity sheets within each department, posting charges to and closing out guest accounts, processing checks, and verifying credit card accounts.
• Additional duties included data entry tasks and inputting daily revenue reports and accounting for revenue received for each business day. Also provided general administrative duties, registered guests and coordinated reservations, handled guest complaints, represented Motel Manager during absences, counted funds, provided customer service, and answered telephones.

UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE, Freemont, Mississippi / New Orleans, Louisiana
1963 - 1969
Transportation Unit Reservist
• Served in the U.S. Army Reserves as the ranking enlisted person, prepared lesson plans and training materials, and other duties as assigned. Additionally served within the Transportation Unit as a clerk responsible for unit and administrative duties.

PAST & CURRENT PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Local Chapter President, American Society of Travel Agents, 1993
• ASTA National Hotel Committee, 1985-1987
• Vice-President, Travel Agents of Greater New Orleans, 1984-1985
• SKAL Club (International Organization of Travel Executives), Member since 1976

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

MILLSAPS COLLEGE, Jackson, Mississippi
1973
Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration
Leadership Activities: Elected Recording Secretary of the Kappa Alpha Order, Served as Chairman of the Housebuilding Committee & worked with an Alumni Board to successfully raise funds for and build a new fraternity house.

PRWRA Grant Cooper - Strategic Resumes / YWW - New Orleans, LA 70118 - yww@gs.net