Director Pre - Opening Sales

About The Leela

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts is India's leading luxury hospitality brand, renowned for blending world-class service with the warmth and grace of Indian hospitality. Headquartered in Mumbai, The Leela operates thirteen award-winning hotels and resorts across key business and leisure destinations in India and continues to expand through a strong development pipeline.

Recognized multiple times as the World's Best Hotel Brand by Travel + Leisure USA, The Leela is committed to delivering exceptional guest experiences inspired by India's rich heritage, culture, and traditions. The brand is affiliated with Preferred Hotels & Resorts and is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance.

Why Join The Leela

• Join an award-winning luxury hospitality brand.
• Be part of a culture committed to excellence and innovation.
• Contribute to exciting new hotel openings across India.
• Access long-term career growth opportunities.
• Help shape exceptional guest experiences rooted in Indian luxury.

Position Overview

Reporting To: AVP & Vice President - Sales

Location: The Leela Corporate Office, Mumbai

The Director - Pre-Opening Sales will lead the commercial sales strategy for all new properties within The Leela's development pipeline, ensuring sales readiness from project planning through opening and stabilization.

The role will establish market positioning, target segments, account acquisition strategies, sales pipelines, distribution networks, and revenue plans to support successful hotel launches. Working closely with Sales, Operations, Development, Revenue Management, Marketing, Brand teams, and hotel leadership, the incumbent will ensure every new property enters the market with a strong commercial foundation and clear route-to-market strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Pre-Opening Sales Strategy

• Develop and execute comprehensive sales strategies for new properties.
• Define target markets, customer segments, sales objectives, and account acquisition plans.
• Create pre-opening sales calendars and activation milestones aligned with opening timelines.

Market Intelligence & Positioning

• Conduct market and competitive analysis for each destination.
• Assess market opportunities, customer demand, and competitive positioning.
• Identify key business generators across Corporate, MICE, Leisure, Travel Trade, and Weddings segments.

Business Development & Account Acquisition

• Build and manage a robust pipeline of corporate, leisure, MICE, travel trade, and national accounts.
• Establish relationships with key decision-makers, agencies, travel partners, and business stakeholders.
• Drive account contracting and onboarding before property opening.

Corporate & National Account Integration

• Leverage The Leela's existing account network to generate business opportunities.
• Collaborate with Corporate Sales teams to drive account penetration and cross-selling initiatives.

MICE, Weddings & Luxury Leisure

• Develop strategies for MICE, groups, weddings, celebrations, and luxury leisure segments.
• Build partnerships with event planners, DMCs, PCOs, luxury travel advisors, and travel consortia.
• Generate business opportunities well ahead of hotel opening.

Sales Activation & Market Launch

• Lead pre-opening roadshows, client events, sales missions, and familiarization programs.
• Ensure strong market visibility and awareness prior to opening.
• Execute commercial launch plans and support business conversion during opening phases.

Sales Readiness & Commercial Support

• Ensure all sales tools, presentations, collateral, databases, and account pipelines are operational.
• Partner with Marketing & Communications to create compelling sales materials and property narratives.
• Maintain accurate representation across relevant sales and distribution channels.

Team Development

• Support recruitment and onboarding of property sales leadership and teams.
• Establish sales processes, targets, reporting frameworks, and account management standards.
• Coach and mentor pre-opening sales teams to ensure market readiness.

Revenue & Performance Management

• Partner with Revenue Management to align business strategies, segmentation, and pricing approaches.
• Monitor pipeline performance, forecasting, pace, and conversion metrics.
• Provide regular commercial updates and recommendations to senior leadership.

Post-Opening Stabilization

• Support newly opened hotels through the stabilization period.
• Monitor performance against business plans and revenue objectives.
• Ensure a seamless transition to the property's permanent sales organization.

Qualifications

• Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Hotel Management, Business Management, Sales & Marketing, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in luxury hospitality sales, including significant pre-opening exposure.
• Proven success in leading commercial strategies for luxury hotel openings.
• Experience across Corporate, MICE, Leisure, Travel Trade, and Weddings segments.
• Strong understanding of the Indian luxury hospitality market.
• Established network of corporate accounts, travel partners, MICE agencies, and business generators.
• Strong commercial, financial, and strategic planning capabilities.
• Experience collaborating with senior hotel leadership, corporate functions, and development teams.
• Willingness to travel extensively to project locations and key source markets.