Job Description

Employment Type: Full-Time

Department: Business Development / Sales

Industry: Short-Term Rental / Vacation Rental / Property Management

Reports To: Sales Director / Head of Business Development

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a highly motivated, target-driven, and commercially minded Business Development Manager – Short-Term Rental / Vacation Rental to support the growth of our U.S. vacation rental business.

The Business Development Manager will be responsible for generating new business, building relationships with customers and property owners, promoting available properties, managing the sales pipeline, explaining property-specific pricing, negotiating within approved commercial guidelines, and converting prospects into confirmed business.

The ideal candidate should have strong sales and business development experience and be comfortable working in a fast-paced, target-oriented, U.S.-market-facing environment.

Experience in vacation rentals, short-term rentals, Airbnb, VRBO, real estate, property management, hospitality, hotels, or other consultative sales environments will be highly valued.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES1. Business Development & Lead Generation

Identify and develop new business opportunities within the U.S. short-term and vacation rental market.
Generate leads through cold calling, email outreach, LinkedIn, referrals, networking, partnerships, and other outbound channels.
Build and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective customers and business opportunities.
Research potential customers, property owners, real estate investors, agents, brokers, and business partners.
Develop relationships with real estate agents, property managers, investors, homeowners, and other relevant partners.
Identify new markets and potential sources of business.
Follow up consistently with prospects to move opportunities through the sales funnel.
Re-engage inactive and previously contacted prospects.

2. Customer & Property Sales

Understand the company's available vacation rental properties and their key features.
Communicate property details, amenities, location, availability, pricing, and applicable terms to prospective customers.
Understand customer requirements and recommend suitable properties based on their needs.
Conduct sales calls, virtual meetings, and customer consultations.
Present properties and services in a professional and persuasive manner.
Handle customer questions, concerns, and objections.
Build trust and develop long-term customer relationships.
Convert qualified prospects into confirmed bookings, contracts, or other defined business opportunities.
Maintain responsibility for prospects from initial contact through successful conversion.

3. PROPERTY PRICING & RATE MANAGEMENT

The candidate must have a strong understanding of the company's property-specific pricing structure.

Each property may have different rates depending on the day, length of stay, season, demand, holidays, weekends, special events, and other applicable periods.

Responsibilities include:

Maintain a thorough understanding of the approved pricing for each property.
Understand daily, weekday, weekend, weekly, monthly, seasonal, holiday, and special-event rates, as applicable.
Clearly communicate applicable property rates to customers.
Explain differences between weekday and weekend pricing.
Explain seasonal and holiday pricing when required.
Provide customers with accurate quotations based on the company's approved rate structure.
Ensure that all quotations, proposals, and customer communications reflect current approved prices.
Understand minimum-stay requirements, where applicable.
Communicate applicable additional fees, charges, deposits, or other commercial terms accurately.
Coordinate with the appropriate internal team when pricing or availability changes.
Stay updated on changes to property rates and ensure customers receive the latest information.
Maintain accurate records of quoted prices and commercial terms.

Important:

The candidate must not independently change or promise pricing outside the company's approved pricing structure.

Any discounts, special rates, promotional pricing, or exceptions must follow established company approval guidelines.

The candidate is expected to balance sales conversion with revenue protection.

4. SALES NEGOTIATION & CLOSING

Negotiate with prospective customers within approved company pricing and commercial guidelines.
Handle objections related to price, availability, property features, location, and terms.
Communicate the value of the property rather than competing solely on price.
Identify opportunities to upsell or cross-sell suitable properties or services.
Create urgency and move qualified prospects toward a decision.
Follow up on quotations and proposals.
Close deals efficiently while maintaining company pricing policies.
Ensure all agreed commercial terms are accurately documented.
Coordinate with internal teams following successful conversion.

5. PROPERTY ACQUISITION & OWNER RELATIONSHIPS

Where applicable, the Business Development Manager will also support the expansion of the company's property portfolio.

Identify property owners and investors who may be interested in working with the company.
Identify suitable short-term and vacation rental properties.
Develop relationships with homeowners, landlords, real estate investors, agents, and brokers.
Explain the company's property management and vacation rental services.
Conduct owner discovery calls and meetings.
Understand property-owner objectives and requirements.
Present the company's value proposition.
Negotiate approved commercial terms.
Assist in converting qualified property owners into new business relationships.
Coordinate with the onboarding and operations teams when a property is successfully acquired.

6. MARKET DEVELOPMENT

Research U.S. vacation rental and short-term rental markets.
Identify areas with strong business development opportunities.
Monitor competitor activity and market trends.
Research comparable property pricing where required.
Identify opportunities arising from holidays, events, tourism, and seasonal demand.
Develop market-specific business development strategies.
Provide management with feedback regarding customer demand, market pricing, competitors, and business opportunities.
Recommend new lead-generation channels and partnership opportunities.

7. CRM & SALES PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

Maintain accurate and updated customer and prospect information in the CRM.
Record calls, meetings, follow-ups, quotations, negotiations, and sales activity.
Maintain an organized sales pipeline.
Ensure timely follow-up with all qualified prospects.
Track leads from initial contact through conversion or closure.
Maintain accurate sales forecasts.
Prepare regular sales and business development reports.
Monitor pipeline value, conversion rates, and sales performance.
Ensure no qualified opportunity is lost because of poor follow-up or inaccurate information.

8. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COORDINATION

Work closely with:

Operations
Property Management
Revenue/Pricing Team
Customer Service
Marketing
Finance
Onboarding Team

to ensure smooth execution of sales and property-related activities.

The candidate must ensure that information regarding pricing, availability, property details, customer requirements, and commercial terms is communicated accurately to the relevant internal teams.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS & KPIs

The Business Development Manager will be measured against clearly defined business development and sales objectives, including:

New qualified leads generated
Outbound prospecting activity
Calls and customer interactions
Meetings/consultations scheduled
Proposals/quotations issued
Sales conversion rate
Confirmed bookings/business generated
New customers acquired
New property owners acquired, where applicable
Revenue generated
Sales pipeline value
Follow-up completion rate
Customer retention and relationship development
Accuracy of quotations and pricing
Compliance with approved pricing
Monthly and quarterly sales targets

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

3+ years of experience in sales, business development, client acquisition, property sales, real estate, hospitality, or a related field.
Proven ability to generate new business and close sales.
Strong outbound prospecting and cold-calling skills.
Experience managing a sales pipeline from lead generation through closing.
Strong negotiation and objection-handling skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong customer relationship management skills.
Ability to understand and communicate pricing structures accurately.
Strong attention to detail when preparing quotations and commercial proposals.
Experience working with CRM systems.
Strong organizational and follow-up skills.
Ability to work independently in a remote environment.
Strong commercial awareness and a results-oriented mindset.

PREFERRED INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Candidates with experience in any of the following industries are strongly preferred: