Rabbie’s operate one of the largest selections of scheduled tours in the UK and Ireland, as well as a European scheduled tour programme, in addition to also offering a trade exclusive FIT programme and private tours. Their vision is to make the world a better place through travel.
They are currently seeking an Accommodation Manager, who will be responsible for managing the accommodation placement team. The role will involve ensuring the successful delivery of the full accommodation placement process. To do this, the Accommodation Manager will be supported by a team of accommodation administrators and a team leader.
Part of the role will be assisting the IT team in developing Rabbie’s internal booking system to support the accommodation placement and booking processes. The placeholder will also need to develop manual processes to support the teams while some system processes are being developed.
You will have the ability to organise and communicate effectively which will be essential in this role, as well as the ability to drive performance in a fast-paced environment that is experiencing growth.
Key responsibilities:
- Manage a team of Accommodation Administrators and a Team Leader, responsible for placing and booking accommodation for passengers on scheduled tours.
- Manage the day-to-day running of the Accommodation team (rotas, payroll, team appraisals etc) assisted by the Team Leader.
- Monitor and manage the full allocation process, including allocation requirements, driver-guide beds, close-out dates, cancellations etc.
- Continual monitoring of allocations, to ensure the tour operations are not affected by lack of accommodation.
- Help develop internal accommodation allocation booking system.
- Help develop and implement processes and procedures, and roll out training on processes to team, to build efficiencies in the team’s work.
- Revenue management tasks – collate and feed information into commercial team.
- Work with the Head of Contracting & Product to define key objectives for the department.
- Support the implementation of Rabbie’s business plan and KPIs, through cascading KPIs to your team as personal goals, objectives, and targets.
- Report regularly on departmental KPIs and progress towards them.
- Produce regular reports on performance, P&Ls, targets, etc.
- Monitor performance and modify plans where appropriate to keep pace with changing business priorities.
- Work closely with the Contracting Manager to ensure the full contracting / accommodation placement cycle is successfully delivered.
- Work with all other departments to ensure all products are accurately loaded on to the systems.
- Work with other departments and the development team, to develop a booking system to manage new products.
- Produce a timeline to suit all departments and the Rabbie’s product cycle.
- Investigating invoice queries, and authorising invoices.
- Be the escalation point for issues, complaints and invoice disputes.
- Organise and facilitate regular team meetings and team communications.
- Develop the teams, capturing training needs and encouraging development.
- Planning site visits for the team, in collaboration with the Contracting Manager.
Key skills & experience:
- Experience in the tourism or hospitality industry.
- Team management experience.
- Experience with accommodation allocations.
- Previous experience using booking systems and / or accommodation channel managers.
- Proven ability to solve problems promptly and effectively.
- Analytical skills, and the ability to use data to make recommendations and create reports.
- Proven interpersonal and communication skills.
- Meticulous attention to detail.
- Experience in developing and implementing processes.
- Strong IT skills (MS Office, booking systems etc) and the ability to adapt to new packages and software.
- Self-motivated with the ability to take ownership to work autonomously and use your own initiative, as well as working as part of a team.
- Strong customer service skills, and supplier relationship management experience.
- Knowledge of HR principles and policies.
- Commercial awareness and understanding of sales figures and targeting.
- A good geographical knowledge of the UK and Ireland.
- Previous experience working in accommodation placement.
How to apply: please send your CV and covering letter to Karin Gidlund.
About Rabbie’s: Rabbie’s Tours offer the largest programme of multi-award winning, guaranteed departure, small group tours in the UK and Ireland. Their scheduled tours range from 1 to 17 days, departing from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, London, Manchester and Dublin.
