By Jimoh Babatunde

Musa Sunday, Director of Sales & Marketing, Park Inn by Radisson Hotel, Abeokuta, Ogun State, is a dynamic and self-motivated individual with in-depth knowledge of effective sales strategies and exceptional presentation skills.

With over 12 years of experience in driving revenue within the hospitality sector so far, Musa has won multiple awards such as Area and Regional Sales Manager of the Year.

In this interview with JIMOH BABATUNDE, he shares his journey into the hospitality sector, the role of social media in marketing, the future of Sales and Marketing in the hotel business and the qualities required for a dynamic Sales resource in today’s hospitality industry among other issues.

Excerpts

The journey into the hospitality industry

My journey into the hospitality industry began when my cousin came across a vacancy advert in one of the national dalies for a marketing/sales role with the Orchid Hotel Group. With no prior experience in the sector, I put in my application and was employed as the Marketing Officer of the hotel.

I grew in that role for three years and moved on to another hotel as Sales and Marketing Manager for six years. My experience was well-built when I decided to join the internationally branded Tsogo Sun (Southern Sun Ikoyi) in 2015.

I also contributed my quota to building on team efforts there, with records of my successes, I was headhunted to take on the role of Assistant Sales & Marketing Director at the prestigious Park Inn by Radisson Hotel, Abeokuta.

I excitedly took on the challenge of growing revenue at the hotel by 40% in my first year. I have since been asked to take on the full role of Director of Sales & Marketing at the hotel and I have my mentor, Salman Saeed, General Manager of the hotel, to thank for this opportunity which has simply been fantastic.

Hospitality market outside Lagos

The market is exciting, but it is not for the faint-hearted as it requires one with good experience to navigate and succeed at it.

Like every good marketer, you must have the ability to convince corporations and individuals to move from their previous choices to yours.

Recent infrastructure improvements have been an added advantage to the success of our business. The revamped train lines and completion of the Ojodu Berger road network are encouraging leisure travellers who are now more willing to come and explore the sights and sounds of our great Abeokuta city.

These improvements have also made travel less cumbersome for business travellers who are happy to jump on the smoother roads now.

Our hotel is very serene with beautifully landscaped grounds. We are happy to show it all off to guests who are now more willing to explore and more importantly, holiday locally.

What makes Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Abeokuta a unique destination for business and leisure guests

The city of Abeokuta is foremost for tourism in West Africa, with its ancient towns, heritage sites and tourist attractions.

Our hotel is a unique destination, a getaway location and a beehive for business activities. The hotel environment is a landmark in the city, offering a haven to local and international guests, and a preferred location for business travellers.

We are reputed for offering the best lodging, events, business, dining, and social facilities in town with an ambience that transports you out of the hustle and bustle of city life.

Our rooms are spacious and complete with all modern in-room facilities and offer the utmost privacy to every guest.

We have great deals and packages that run all year round and our rates are guaranteed to make the stay of every guest pocket-friendly and enjoyable. Our meeting and events spaces are equally expansive with spaces seating up to 350 guests.

Our team is exceptional, well-trained, and professional in handling all guests’ enquiries and services. We have the best spa in the city located on our premises, ensuring there is so much to engage our guests during every visit. Attractions for local arts and crafts are also readily available on our hotel premises with a well-equipped fitness centre.

The list is almost endless for us, and we are centrally located with proximity to popular tourist locations like Olumo Rock, the golf course, MKO Abiola Stadium, the Ogun River, the Government Secretariat and so on.

Rating the market share of Park Inn by Radisson Hotel in the hospitality sector in Ogun State

Ours is a viable market for hospitality and with our expansive portfolio which caters to a variety of guests, we currently own about 55 per cent of the local market share.

We are the only internationally branded hotel in the Ogun State market and as government, corporate business and leisure activities grow, our hotel is well positioned to capture the bulk of the market. Relationship management is at the heart of our success in holding on to the larger chunk of the market share.

We are focused and intentional about keeping our guests and stakeholders happy and this continues to give us the edge over competitors.

How he handles low seasons business for profitability

It is all about good management and as a Director, I am skilled at looking at the books and numbers to ensure profitability is maintained all year.

As I said, our strategies are focused yet aggressive, and the comfort of our guests is utmost to us. With effective strategies in place, we ensure that guests’ visits are repeated and their referrals of us are consistently positive.

We never stop pursuing the market for more of its share and we double down on marketing efforts all through the year.

We maintain diversified products and services for all seasons, and this ensures that we have attractive deals for our guests all year round, keeping us profitable.

We are exceptionally loyal to our guests, they know they can reach us with their specific requests, and we make the magic happen. These, and more, keep us profitable all year.

On the future of Sales and Marketing in the hotel business

Looking ahead, there is no doubt that our industry will continue to evolve as advancements in technology progress. Internationally branded hotels like ours are already well positioned for the larger share of the market.

Our processes are already digital, and we will progressively get more automated in all we do to ensure hassle-free check-in and out processes for every guest.

On OTAs and Google optimization searches, we will continue to rank as the preferred option for guests. We are active in the social media marketing space, ensuring well-styled content for our target audience. I will keep emphasizing the role of relationship marketing as I am convinced that this will never die out regardless of how automated or digitized our processes become.

Every guest, irrespective of their spending, requires special care and attention. For me, this will never die out.

It is also important to me to have a fine blend of modern and traditional strategies in keeping our processes seamless and most importantly, keeping our guests intrinsically happy.

Qualities required for a dynamic Sales resource in today’s hospitality industry

Some of the many qualities to have include having a good knowledge of your product and competition, knowledge of who your customers are, and what they want and listening to them well.

A sales resource must have a genuine and authentic character, it is the only way to build and manage lasting relationships without putting off the customer.

A good sales resource must have a strategic sales and implementation plan because goals must be set, markets must be well-identified, and plans must be actionable to reach projected revenue.

If all of this is not in place, failure is inevitable.

Lastly, I will add that despite the great technological advancement, the telephone remains an important tool for the sales resource. Call your customers, visit them, and get to know them well. There is simply no magic wand to these things, the work must be put in to for successful results to be achieved.

Advent of social media on marketing and hotel revenue

The changes in the use of social media are positive. From the comfort of an office, you can now showcase real-time activities from your business or campaign without hassle.

Social media truly helps increase brand awareness and visibility, it helps as a channel for increasing booking and it enhances engagement with existing and targeted guests.

Guests’ reviews can be received promptly and the comments they provide can give invaluable insights. Overall, effective marketing can help businesses attract more customers, and generate conversions which lead to increased sales.

Rating budget allocation to the Sales and Marketing department in hotels today

This is my department so whatever I say here, people will feel that I am biased. The truth is hotels need to do more in this area.

Currently, I will rate budget allocation to this department at approximately four over 10 and I think this is poor.

The least hotels should do is to keep budgeting to this department flexible so that it can be adjusted as needed whilst monitoring the performance of running/active campaigns. and allocating more resources when needed. I am a firm believer that if more budget is put in, more results will be achieved.

How has it been at Park Inn, future goals? 

It has been a positively interesting journey so far. My  GM is a salesperson , so I am thankful to have his leadership and support. This is key for me because he understands my pulse when I push for more training opportunities, programs and rewards systems for my team as it is needed to keep them motivated and refreshed.

I am hoping to ramp up on all we have built so far, ensuring that all efforts on products and services are well managed and maximized for unflinching customer satisfaction. It is a sure way of growing revenue and keeping the business profitable.