Director of Reservations

The Director of Reservations is responsible for leading the Reservations Department and ensuring the effective management of room reservations, inventory control, and reservation systems to maximize conversion, optimize room availability, and deliver exceptional service. The role works closely with the Director of Revenue Management, Sales, Front Office, Revenue, and Distribution teams to ensure reservation accuracy, inventory integrity, and seamless guest experiences, particularly during high-demand periods including Hajj, Ramadan, and Umrah.

Key Responsibilities

Reservations Operations

• Lead and manage the daily operations of the Reservations Department.
• Ensure all reservations are processed accurately and within brand standards.
• Maintain reservation quality, guest communication, and response times.
• Supervise reservation team and ensure service excellence.
• Monitor reservation queues and booking turnaround times.
• Handle VIP, group, and complex reservation requests.
• Ensure reservation policies are consistently followed.

Inventory & Availability Management

• Manage room inventory in coordination with the Revenue Management team.
• Ensure room availability is accurately reflected across all booking channels.
• Monitor room allocation, restrictions, stop-sell periods, and overbooking levels.
• Coordinate room releases during Hajj, Ramadan, and peak demand periods.
• Ensure rate codes, packages, and promotions are loaded correctly.

Distribution Systems

• Ensure accurate setup and maintenance of Opera PMS and Accor reservation systems.
• Coordinate with Distribution and Revenue teams regarding channel connectivity.
• Monitor reservation interfaces and system performance.
• Ensure reservation data integrity across all systems.

Revenue Support

• Support the Director of Revenue Management in implementing approved pricing strategies.
• Monitor pickup trends and booking pace.
• Prepare daily reservation and pickup reports.
• Identify unusual booking patterns and communicate them promptly.
• Assist with forecasting by providing reservation insights and booking trends.

Team Leadership

• Recruit, train, coach, and develop the Reservations team.
• Conduct performance evaluations and continuous coaching.
• Ensure compliance with Accor brand standards.
• Build a high-performing, guest-focused reservations team.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Front Office to ensure room readiness and arrival planning.
• Coordinate with Sales regarding group blocks and contracted allocations.
• Support Finance with reservation audits when required.
• Collaborate with Marketing regarding promotional offers and campaigns.

Reporting

• Prepare daily pickup reports.

• Produce weekly reservation performance reports.

• Monitor booking pace against forecast.

• Track reservation conversion.

• Analyze booking source performance.

• Monitor cancellations and no-show trends.

• Bachelor s degree in Hotel Management, Business, or related field.

• 3 5 years of experience in revenue and reservation management roles within a luxury or upper-upscale hotel environment (Accor experience preferred).

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.

• Experience with IDeaS Revenue Management System and Opera PMS highly desirable.

• In-depth knowledge of online distribution channels, OTA management, and dynamic pricing models.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.

• Fluent in English ; proficiency in Arabic is an advantage.

• High level of integrity, attention to detail, and ability to perform under pressure especially during peak seasons.