Director of Sales

Director of Sales, Greece

Reports to: Chief Commercial Officer (Cyprus & Greece)
Location: Greece (Athens, with regular travel throughout Greece where Hotel Chain has properties)
Responsible for: Commercial sales performance of all hotels in Greece, including city and leisure properties, and leadership of the Athens and Thessaloniki Sales Offices.

Position Summary

The Director of Sales is responsible for leading the sales strategy and commercial development of the Greek hotel portfolio, ensuring the achievement of revenue, profitability and market share objectives across both city and leisure destinations.

The role provides strategic direction and operational leadership to the sales teams based in Athens and Thessaloniki, ensuring a unified commercial approach while adapting sales strategies to the specific needs of each hotel, destination and market segment.

Working closely with the Chief Commercial Officer, Revenue Management, Marketing and hotel General Managers, the Director of Sales will drive business growth, strengthen key partnerships and ensure the commercial success of the portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy

• Develop and execute the annual sales strategy for the Greek hotel portfolio in line with the Group Commercial Strategy.

• Create differentiated sales plans for city hotels and leisure resorts based on their individual business mix, seasonality and target markets.

• Identify new business opportunities across domestic and international markets.

• Continuously evaluate market trends, economic conditions and competitor activity to identify opportunities and mitigate risks.

• Ensure commercial strategies are aligned with each hotel's positioning and brand standards.

Revenue Generation

• Deliver the annual sales budget and revenue objectives for all hotels in Greece.

• Maximise revenue across all business segments including:

  • Corporate

  • Leisure FIT

  • Tour Operators

  • MICE

  • Groups

  • Government

  • Airlines

  • Crew

  • Sports

  • Luxury Travel Advisors

  • Consortia

  • Wholesale

• Drive business during low-demand periods through targeted sales initiatives.

• Support new hotel openings with pre-opening commercial strategies and market penetration plans.

City Hotel Sales Strategy

Develop commercial initiatives specifically focused on city hotels by:

• Growing corporate negotiated accounts.

• Expanding conference and meeting business.

• Increasing transient corporate production.

• Developing government and embassy business.

• Building relationships with local companies and multinational organisations.

• Driving weekend and shoulder-period occupancy through leisure and event-driven demand.

• Increasing business from airlines, crew and relocation companies.

Leisure Resort Sales Strategy

Develop dedicated strategies for resort hotels by:

• Strengthening relationships with international tour operators.

• Expanding cooperation with luxury travel advisors and DMC’s.

• Increasing direct leisure bookings.

• Growing group leisure business.

• Developing sports, wellness and special-interest tourism.

• Supporting charter programmes where applicable.

• Identifying opportunities within emerging source markets.

• Collaborating with Marketing to drive seasonal campaigns and promotions.

Business Development

• Identify and secure new strategic accounts.

• Build long-term relationships with key decision-makers.

• Personally manage high-value commercial partnerships.

• Negotiate annual contracts ensuring profitability.

• Represent the company at international exhibitions, workshops, trade fairs and sales missions.

• Expand the portfolio's presence in new geographical markets.

Leadership

• Lead the Athens and Thessaloniki Sales Offices.

• Build a culture focused on accountability, collaboration and commercial excellence.

• Coach, mentor and develop sales managers and executives.

• Establish measurable KPI’s and monitor performance.

• Conduct regular one-to-one meetings and performance reviews.

• Identify succession planning opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Revenue Management on pricing strategies and forecasting.

• Partner with Marketing on events, exhibitions and campaigns that generate qualified business.

• Collaborate with Reservations to maximise conversion and customer experience.

• Support General Managers with local commercial initiatives.

• Ensure alignment between Greece and Cyprus commercial teams.

Performance Analysis

• Monitor sales performance against budget.

• Analyse production by segment, market and account.

• Review market share and competitor performance.

• Prepare weekly, monthly and quarterly reports.

• Present strategic recommendations to the Chief Commercial Officer.

• Drive corrective actions whenever required.

New Hotel Openings

• Develop and execute commercial pre-opening strategies.

• Build account pipelines before opening.

• Ensure commercial readiness of each new property.

• Work with Marketing on launch campaigns and promotional activities.

Leadership Responsibilities

The Director of Sales will:

• Inspire high-performing teams.

• Promote collaboration between Athens and Thessaloniki.

• Develop future commercial leaders.

• Foster accountability and ownership.

• Build a customer-centric sales culture.

• Encourage innovation and data-driven decision-making.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

• Total sales budget achievement.

• Revenue growth by property.

• Revenue growth by segment.

• Market share.

• New business acquisition.

• Key account retention.

• Corporate production.

• Leisure production.

• Tour Operator production.

• MICE production.

• Group revenue.

• Direct business growth.

• Sales activity and pipeline conversion.

• Forecast accuracy.

• Customer retention.

• Team performance.

• CRM compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Hospitality

• Minimum 8–10 years of hotel sales experience.

• At least 5 years in a senior commercial leadership role.

• Multi-property hotel experience is essential.

• Proven experience with both city hotels and leisure resorts.

• Strong understanding of international and domestic hospitality markets.

• Excellent negotiation, leadership and strategic planning skills.

• Fluency in English and Greek.

• Willingness to travel extensively throughout Greece and internationally.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Commercial Leadership

• Multi-Property Sales Management

• Business Development

• Revenue Growth

• Market Analysis

• Account Management

• Team Leadership & Coaching

• Negotiation & Influencing

• Financial knowledge

• Relationship Management

• Communication & Presentation Skills

• Problem Solving

• Change Management

• Customer Focus

• Cross-Functional Collaboration