Group Reservations Manager

About the role

A leading safari and adventure group offering wildlife experiences across East Africa is recruiting a Group Reservations Manager for its Nairobi office. The successful candidate will lead the central reservation functions for the East African portfolio, acting as the strategic heart of booking operations: maximizing group revenue through inventory management, high-conversion inquiry handling and the use of AI-driven booking tools.

Key responsibilities

• Drive yield optimization through static and dynamic pricing with Revenue Management, ensuring rate parity across channels
• Control and allocate inventory for groups, weddings and corporate retreats to maximize occupancy and ADR
• Monitor market and competitor performance with tools such as STR and Lighthouse and adjust positioning in real time
• Lead, mentor and upskill centralized and remote reservations teams, embedding a "sales-through-service" culture
• Implement and optimize digital solutions such as PMS platforms and AI chatbots
• Define and track KPIs on conversion, upselling and revenue contribution
• Build relationships with key trade partners and oversee VIP and high-security bookings
• Produce revenue forecasts and pickup reports, and develop and audit SOPs

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or a related field
• Minimum 5+ years in senior reservations roles, including at least 2 years at multi-property or group level
• Strong regional knowledge of the East African tourism circuit (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda); Safari Lodge experience highly preferred
• Analytical, able to turn complex data into sales and revenue strategies
• High cultural intelligence and experience managing diverse, multi-national teams
• Excellent English communication; Swahili is an advantage

Required skills

• PMS (Res Request or Opera)
• CRS and channel managers such as SiteMinder
• Exposure to AI-driven booking tools

The vacancy is advertised by Summit Recruitment & Search, a recruitment agency based in Kenya. Applications are made through the agency's application process; candidates not contacted within two weeks are not shortlisted for this role.