Saqib Arif

A qualified Hospitality Professional with extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in managing a wide range of operational aspects of corporate travel programmes. My specialties include hotel groups and contracting, hotel reservations and accommodation management, vendor management, and visa processing. I pride myself on delivering exemplary customer service and building strong, long-term client relationships.

I possess strong communication and interpersonal skills and am highly capable of managing multiple tasks in pressured environments while consistently meeting tight deadlines. My career has been built in Hong Kong, which has not only strengthened my expertise in Asia Pacific travel but has also given me broad exposure to, and a deep understanding of, diverse cultures.

Reservation and Groups agent for Cluster hotel - voco Grand Central Hotel & Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel, Glasgow - Glasgow

(2022-07)

• Guest Interaction: Answer calls, emails, and chats, providing information and assisting with special requests.
• Booking Management: Process new reservations, modifications, and cancellations accurately in Property Management Systems (PMS) like Opera.
• Sales & Revenue: Convert inquiries into bookings, upsell services, and meet sales targets.
• Data Entry: Ensure accurate recording of guest details, market codes, and booking sources.
• Problem Solving: Handle guest complaints, overbookings, and system issues.
• Coordination: Communicate with Front Office and other teams for guest needs.
• Reporting: Complete daily checklists, manage correspondence, and assist supervisors.

Sales Support Coordinator - Hilton Glasgow - Glasgow

(2021-08 - 2022-07)

• Group Lead, meeting space and/or transient RFP delivery and follow-up on behalf of accounts and account owners which involves call support for accounts, customers, and hotels
• Data requests from accounts and account owners from a variety of sales systems, development of insightful reporting, and integration into output like B2B Marketing's QBR decks.
• Engaging with accounts, account owners and B2B Marketing on best practices to educate Sales Support and their BTS, Group and Leisure accounts on Hilton's features and benefits.
• Participating in recurring, educational, team-building, and cross-team events within and between the Sales Support offices in consultation with the Hilton Worldwide Sales teams.
• Any and all other job duties /project as assigned by Supervisors

Office Administrator - Rainbow Apparel Ltd. - Glasgow

(2020-11 - 2021-08)

• Conduct clerical duties, including filing, answering phone calls, responding to emails and updating listing on Amazon/eBay.
• Assist colleagues whenever necessary in Stock taking, Packaging, Handle deliveries and returning goods. Ability to multi-task and prioritise projects.
• Strong knowledge of ChannelGrabber™ & Cloud Commerce Pro software.
• Perform accounting tasks, including invoicing and budget tracking.

Regional Hotel and Specialist – Bloomberg Travel Service Team - BCD Travel – Bloomberg Account - Hong Kong

(2016-04 - 2020-05)

This was a newly created role and therefore I was tasked with creating a range of visa new procedures including the setup of a library of authorised digital signatures, company business registration, signature/stamp authorizations, management of visa letter templates/letterheads, and coordination of company guarantee/invite letters. I successfully consolidated and standardised all visa/contract processes and influenced the same standard to be applied in BCD's EMEA and USA teams.

• Key Regional BCD representative for all hotel group sourcing, negotiation of room rates and contract terms, room bookings and a central point of contact for major Bloomberg meetings and events in Asia Pacific.
• A key responsibility was to work with hotels to negotiate lower rates during busy periods. I successfully leveraged my relationships and negotiation skills to achieve annual savings for Bloomberg ranging between US$40-60k.
• Responsible for all weekly and monthly reports to Bloomberg APAC Travel Managers on the hotel, visa and meeting & events statistics.

BA (Honors) - International Tourism Management - University of Central Lancashire -In HKCT

Foundation Degree - Tourism Management - Manchester Metropolitan University

Higher Education Foundation Course (HEFC) - Newcastle College