By Nate Wisneski – Kalihwisaks
Against stiff competition, the Sales Team at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center was named Sales Team of the Year at the Aimbridge Hospitality Awards last week.
Radisson’s 10-person sales team was up against hotels in Dallas, Tulsa, and Atlanta. “Everything is based on market share when it comes to Sales Team of the Year and performance reviews,” said Radisson General Manager Steve Ninham.
As Aimbridge Hospitallity placed the Radisson in the third tier category Ninham prepared the “honor to be nominated” speech.
“I was just telling the team that it’s nice to just be nominated. Being nominated among 750 people in the room in an honor among itself,” Ninham said.
Shock was Radisson’s Director of Sales Mary Shaw’s reaction.
“They worked very hard and it wasn’t easy. We came off a year that was a struggle. We had some transition, but I think they all grabbed on to the Ambridge chain and really did stellar numbers,” said Shaw.
Ninham directs part of the team’s success to Shaw.
“I think a lot comes with Mary being aggressive with the team. Change is tough,” Ninham said.
The sales team is responsible for not only booking rooms but also conventions and events.
“They’re cold calling accounts, a lot of footwork and going out to see the clients. They are going to local and national tradeshow. Their typical day is looking for business,” said Shaw. “There is uniqueness here. We actually have extra sales people that most don’t have. We work the casino market and we also work the tribal market. It’s an advantage for us because we have more markets that most don’t have.”
Ninham was also a finalist for General Manager of the Year. He previously won the award two times.
“It was a big honor with that many people and hotels the company has. It was very humbling. I’ve won the award twice before in 2008 and 2010. It was a lot smaller then too. It’s really nice to be nominated,” he said.
