About the Company:
Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd, a Fairfax Company and subsidiary of Thomas Cook (I) Ltd, one of India's most awarded leisure hospitality brands with presence across 65+ exotic locations, is looking for an experienced and skillful National Director - Corporate
About the Role:
Reporting To: Senior Vice President HSD (Holiday Sales Division)
Scope Clarifier:
This role is the single-point owner for all direct corporate business from enterprises, Indian corporates, SMEs and industry bodies. Indirect business through travel agencies, consolidators and B2B platforms is led separately by the National Head Travel Agency Channel & B2B Partnerships.
Role Purpose:
The National Director Corporate is responsible for leading and scaling the corporate revenue engine for Sterling nationally. The role covers business from Fortune 500 companies, large Indian corporates and emerging SMEs across:
- SMICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions)
- Residential conferences and leadership offsites
- Corporate FIT and team outings
- Long-stay and workation programs
- Rewards and recognition travel, wellness and employee engagement programs
Key Area Responsibilities:
A. Strategy and Revenue Ownership
The role leads the overall go-to-market approach for corporate business and converts it into measurable commercial outcomes. This includes developing a clear view of priority sectors, target account tiers and regional focus, and translating this into annual and quarterly plans.
- Define and execute a national corporate sales strategy aligned with Sterling's growth priorities.
- Build a three-year roadmap for increasing the corporate segment's contribution to overall Sterling revenue.
- Set and own annual revenue, margin and wallet-share targets for the corporate segment, in collaboration with SVPHSD and Revenue Management.
- Ensure that strategy is broken down into clear, actionable plans for the corporate sales team across regions.
B. Corporate Account Management and Growth
The role provides deep ownership of relationships and revenue from key corporate clients, especially large and strategic accounts.
- Build and manage senior-level relationships with CXOs, CHROs, CFOs, procurement heads, travel managers and admin leaders in priority companies.
- Lead multi-property corporate contracts, including rate structures, inclusions, seasonality and performance commitments.
- Develop and drive strategic account plans for key clients, with defined objectives for revenue growth, penetration and cross-sell or up-sell.
- Conduct regular business reviews with major corporate accounts to track performance, service delivery, feedback and future opportunities.
The expected outcome is a strong portfolio of corporate clients where Sterling secures multi-year, high-value engagements and grows its share of spend over time.
C. Intermediary and Ecosystem Management
Corporate decisions are often influenced by intermediaries and advisors. This role builds a strong Sterling presence in this ecosystem.
- Develop relationships with TMCs, event agencies, MICE specialists and corporate travel influencers who advise large organizations.
- Co-create offsite and conference programs with these intermediaries to position Sterling as a preferred resort partner.
- Ensure intermediaries find Sterling easy to work with in terms of proposal quality, responsiveness and on-ground delivery.
D. Cross-Functional Collaboration
Effective corporate business relies on strong alignment across internal teams. The role ensures what is sold is practical, profitable and deliverable.
- Work closely with Revenue Management on pricing, contracted rates, blackout dates and commercial structures for corporate clients.
- Partner with Marketing to design corporate-focused communications, case studies and campaigns tailored to priority sectors.
- Coordinate with Resort GMs and Operations to ensure operational readiness for large events, including check-in processes, F&B, AV support and activities.
- Provide structured feedback to Experience/Product teams on evolving corporate needs and expectations.
E. Product and Proposition Development
The role shapes corporate-specific offerings, ensuring that Sterling is perceived as a solutions partner and not only a provider of rooms and banquet space.
- Co-create standardized corporate packages such as 2D/1N and 3D/2N offsite templates, all-inclusive conference bundles and leadership retreat formats.
- Design and document playbooks for different event types, including sales kickoffs, leadership programs, wellness-driven engagement trips and long-stay workation models.
- Ensure propositions are clearly articulated and easy for the sales team and resort teams to understand and sell.
F. People Leadership and Governance
The role leads a national corporate sales team and puts in place a structured, disciplined way of working.
- Lead a multi-level team of National, Regional and Key Account Managers based in key metros.
- Define clear roles, territories and account ownership to avoid overlaps and ensure accountability.
- Implement robust review rhythms, including weekly pipeline reviews, monthly performance reviews and periodic account plan deep-dives.
- Drive CRM hygiene so that opportunities, stages, forecasts and activities are accurately captured and updated.
- Coach the team in consultative enterprise selling, negotiation, presentation and sector understanding.
G. Market Intelligence and Competitive Insights
The role keeps Sterling's corporate strategy current and informed by the market.
- Track trends in corporate travel and MICE, including remote work patterns, hybrid events, wellness themes and sustainability expectations.
- Monitor competitor rate positioning, offerings and corporate tie-ups.
- Identify emerging sectors, clusters and corridors where corporate activity is growing and where Sterling can establish a presence.
- Share structured insights with leadership and recommend strategic adjustments where needed.
H. Travel and External Representation
The role represents Sterling to corporate India and ensures a visible presence in relevant forums.
- Travel 812 days per month for client meetings, pitches, reviews and site visits.
- Represent Sterling at industry, HR and travel conferences and events, including speaking engagements where appropriate.
- Build and maintain Sterling's positioning as a preferred partner for corporate offsites and retreats.
Qualification:
- 1015 years of experience in corporate sales within hospitality, travel or related sectors.
- At least 5 years leading national or multi-region portfolios and teams.
- Strong understanding of corporate procurement, travel policies, RFP processes and HR-led engagement programs.
- Enterprise-level stakeholder management, including CXO, CHRO, CFO and procurement teams.
- Strong negotiation, solution selling and commercial structuring capabilities.
- High comfort with CRM systems, pipeline management and data-based decisions.
- Builds a performance-oriented yet collaborative culture, combining targets and coaching.
- Demonstrates high ownership, strategic thinking and customer-centric decision-making.
- Graduate; MBA in Sales, Marketing or Hospitality preferred.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Corporate revenue and margin contribution to Sterling.
- Increase in number and value of strategic corporate accounts.
- Improvement in share of wallet from key clients.
- Renewal and retention rates for major contracts.
- Team productivity and pipeline quality, including conversion rates and forecast accuracy.
- Corporate experience and satisfaction scores, including feedback from event organizers and participants.
Why Join Sterling
- Be part of India's leading leisure hospitality brand
- Lead operations at one of our flagship or upcoming resorts
- Experience a collaborative and growth-driven environment with clear career advancement opportunities
- Shape unforgettable guest experiences across our stunning destinations nationwide
- Step into a leadership role that defines the future of leisure hospitality.
Join Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd as Operation Manager where your experience creates lasting impact.
