Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at each onPeak department? Curious about the people, their roles, and how everything works? Well, you’re about to get the inside scoop in our first installment of “Behind the Scenes.”
This quarter’s spotlight: Account Services (AS)
First, let’s cover some key stats. The AS team is a diverse group with various roles:
- Account Services Directors: 4
- Account Executives (including seniors): 25
- Account Services Associates: 15
This team of hospitality professionals focuses on both the strategic and the tactical.
Strategically speaking, each team member is a skilled relationship manager. Our AEs (Account Executives) are the day-to-day housing consultants for our clients and are often seen as an extension of the client’s own team. Our ASAs (Account Services Associates) nurture exhibitor relationships, providing white-glove service during the booking process and onsite. Together, the AS team collaborates to drive capture, increase pickup, and keep our clients and customers satisfied.
Tactically speaking, it’s all about the details. As they say, “the devil is in the details,” and in AS, it’s the details that matter. So let’s take a closer look at what really happens Behind the Scenes…
Initial Set-up: This team takes all pertinent hotel contract data (blocks, rates, cutoff dates, commission, rebate, comps) and loads it into Compass. Based on this info, they also prepare the event’s budget and QA ensures everything is correct.
The Room Block Puzzle: Throughout the event cycle, AEs review booking pace and available inventory, rebalancing hotel blocks to meet demand. They analyze booking data week over week, year over year, to estimate how many rooms we’ll pick up to ensure we always have a room to book.
Staff & VIPs: Each client sends a group of people to work the event, ranging from 20 to 200+. The AEs personally manage these reservations to ensure all the complimentary considerations our HIRMs negotiated—like comp rooms/suites, upgrades, staff rates, amenities, airport transfers—are efficiently allocated.
Capture and Retention – Exhibitors and Groups: ASAs prioritize recognizing, rewarding, and retaining exhibitors and key groups through personal, concierge-level service. They know who booked with us last year and work diligently to ensure they book with us again. They also identify who hasn’t booked with us and implement a plan to capture them within the block. Onsite, through Exhibitor Connect, they meet with their top customers to offer assistance. At the same time, they visit exhibitors who didn’t book to understand why and see how they can get them to book in the block.
Data Integrity: Our ASAs are eagle-eyed QA experts, validating and verifying every contract detail in Compass. After housing goes live, they work the dupe and no-name lists, ensuring every booking is guaranteed and has an actual occupant name attached. Then, about a month before each event, affectionately known as “cutoff”, a lot happens. Rooming lists are sent to hotels, and each day, the ASAs work hard to ensure that rooming lists are processed correctly and that we get a hotel confirmation number for every single reservation on the rooming list.
Post-Show Audits: At onPeak, we have a golden rule—never leave a room night on the table! So, our AS team ensures each hotel cross-checks the event’s registration list with their in-house list to spot any book-arounds. Quantifying the actual reservations is like finding hidden treasure, with far-reaching implications for our clients as it directly impacts where and when they can host their next event.
In a nutshell, the Account Services team at onPeak is like a well-oiled machine, buzzing with energy and dedication. They juggle strategic relationship building and tactical execution with finesse, ensuring every event client is happy and every guest has a great night’s sleep. Their attention to detail and commitment to excellence, shared by every single one of us, are what sets onPeak apart from the rest.
Stay tuned for more Behind the Scenes adventures in our next installment!
