Sales and Catering Coordinator

A Sales and Catering Coordinator is the operational engine behind a hotel's group and event business. Sales Managers and Catering Managers can generate revenue and maintain client relationships because someone is making sure the proposals are accurate, the contracts are processed, the BEOs are distributed on time, and the dozens of follow-up tasks that fall between a signed contract and a successful event are handled systematically.

On a typical day, a coordinator might handle five incoming group inquiries from the Cvent platform, draft two event proposals for a Sales Manager reviewing them later, create and distribute BEOs for next week's three group events, process a deposit payment and post it to the group's master account, and schedule a site tour for a corporate meeting planner considering the property for their annual leadership conference.

The BEO is central to everything. It's the document that tells the banquet setup crew how many rounds of eight to arrange, tells the kitchen what the final guarantee count is and when the meal needs to be served, tells AV what microphones and projection equipment are required, and tells engineering when power and temperature requirements need to be adjusted. A coordinator who produces accurate BEOs consistently, distributed with enough lead time for each department to prepare, is directly enabling the hotel to execute events well.

Client communication is another substantial piece. Coordinators often handle the administrative back-and-forth with clients after the contract is signed—rooming list submissions, menu selection confirmations, AV requirement updates, and final billing questions. Being reliable, organized, and responsive in these interactions builds the client's confidence in the property.

The role is high-volume and detail-intensive. Errors in booking records or event documentation create problems that show up in the worst possible moment—during the event itself. People who thrive in this role genuinely like detail work and take precision seriously.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in hospitality management, event management, or business (preferred)
• Associate degree in hospitality with relevant internship experience
• Hospitality management program graduates with event planning coursework are strong candidates

Experience:

• 1–2 years in hotel operations, catering, or event coordination for entry-level roles
• Front desk experience is valuable—it provides PMS familiarity and guest interaction skills
• Internships in hotel sales or event coordination departments during academic programs

Technical skills:

• Catering management system proficiency (Delphi FX, Ungerboeck/Momentus, Salesforce CRM)
• Microsoft Office: Excel for event financial tracking, Word for proposals and contracts, Outlook for multi-party coordination
• PMS familiarity (Opera, Infor) for group rooming list and billing management
• Cvent or Lanyon RFP platform experience is a meaningful differentiator

Organizational competencies:

• Document management: maintaining clean, current booking records under volume pressure
• Calendar and trace system management—nothing falls through because a deadline wasn't visible
• Multi-task prioritization: 15 open events in varying stages simultaneously requires triage skill

Communication skills:

• Professional written communication for proposal and contract documents
• Responsive, professional email management with multiple clients and internal stakeholders
• Phone communication for inquiry handling and client follow-up

Financial basics:

• Deposit processing and receipt documentation
• Post-event billing reconciliation—confirming that event actuals match the contracted and invoiced amounts

Sales and Catering Coordinator is one of the most structured entry-level pathways into hotel management in the industry. The demand for coordinators tracks hotel group and event revenue, which has been strong since the post-pandemic recovery accelerated through 2023–2025. Properties that cut sales support staff during the downturn are rebuilding those teams.

The coordinator role itself is not a long-term destination for most people—it's a 2–3 year position that builds the systems knowledge, client communication skills, and department operations experience needed to move into a sales management role. Properties that invest in coordinator development have a built-in pipeline for Sales Manager positions; those that don't find themselves hiring externally for roles that would have been natural promotions.

The career trajectory from coordinator is well-compensated and relatively fast. A Sales Manager role typically comes with a commission plan that pushes total compensation into the $75,000–$100,000 range for strong performers. From Sales Manager, the path runs to Senior Sales Manager, Director of Sales, and Director of Sales and Marketing—one of the highest-paid positions in hotel management.

The skills developed as a coordinator—event documentation, client communication, multi-party logistics coordination, contract management—are transferable across the hospitality industry and beyond. Event management companies, convention centers, destination management organizations (DMOs), and corporate event planning departments all hire people with hotel catering coordination backgrounds.

For recent hospitality graduates or career changers entering the industry, this role offers a genuine combination of competitive starting salary, clear advancement, and skills development that positions them well for a long career in hospitality sales and event management.

Dear Hiring Manager,

I'm applying for the Sales and Catering Coordinator position at [Hotel]. I recently completed my Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management at [University], where my concentration was in event management and I completed a semester internship in the catering sales department at [Property].

During my internship I assisted with BEO preparation for approximately 30 events, managed the department's trace calendar in Delphi, and responded to initial Cvent inquiries under the supervision of the Catering Sales Manager. By the end of the internship I was handling first-contact responses independently and the manager was reviewing rather than rewriting them before they went out.

The detail side of this work is something I genuinely like. I kept a clean audit log of every BEO change during the internship—because last-minute client adjustments are inevitable and operations needs to know what changed, not just what the final version says. My supervisor mentioned during my exit review that this habit made her job noticeably easier.

I've been working through my CHSP coursework since graduation and plan to sit for the exam this fall. I'm proficient in Delphi and comfortable in Excel for event financial tracking.

I'm particularly interested in [Hotel] because of the size of your group and catering operation—working in a department with significant volume is where I'll learn fastest.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Your Name]