Sebastiaan Vandendael

I focus on helping organizations navigate complexity by turning unclear situations into structured decisions and concrete direction. In my role, I operate at the intersection of commercial strategy and operations, working on questions around focus, priorities, pricing, and ways of working. I’m typically involved when there are too many initiatives, unclear ownership, or when decisions keep getting postponed. As AI becomes part of everyday business rather than a separate initiative, my interest lies in how it reshapes decision-making, roles, and accountability. My focus is not on tools or implementation, but on helping leaders create clarity, set boundaries, and make deliberate choices before scaling execution.

Rum Babs is the result of century-old recipes handed down from generation to generation to create "Punch-au-Rhum"; a refined combination of locally grown spices and fruits, mixed with the best rums the island has to offer. Creation of the company including legal, food safety, negotiations with key suppliers, sales & marketing.

Responsibilities: ⦁ Managed and coached a team of 3 external sales, 4 internal sales, 1 community manager, 3 interns ⦁ Build and implemented a new commercial approach, brand identity, sales and marketing support documents ⦁ Re-positioned the event's team to increase their selling performance ⦁ Re-structured the sales team to increase the capturing of new business leads and accounts ⦁ Led the team through the initial phase of COVID-19 ⦁ Led the closure of the commercial department following the shut-down of the hotel Key Impacts: ⦁ Increased new accounts by 20% ⦁ Increased repeat business from 25 to 35% ⦁ Increased brand recognition ⦁ 2 confirmed promotions within my team ⦁ Entire team achieved their set goals in 2019 ⦁ 2020 was to become a record year in events performance for Hotel Métropole

Responsibilities: ⦁ Managed and coached a team of 4 external sales, 9 internal sales, 4 reservation agents, 1 marketing representative and 4 interns ⦁ Responsible for setting up and deploying the commercial strategy of both Sofitels in Brussels ⦁ Restructured the event's team to match customer expectations ⦁ Coached both reservation teams to increase upselling and customer loyalty Key Impacts: ⦁ Increased repeat business from 30 to 50% ⦁ Increased both reservations' teams testscores, increased revenue from upselling by 10% ⦁ Decreased tensions among different departments

Demonstrating both the approach and progressive nature to continually drive my career to the next level, I secured promotion to Director of Sales from real business wins as a Senior Sales Manager. Where I really excel is in taking team talent through development to maximize their potential to secure sustainable business, growth and commercial success stories. - Key Impacts ⦁ Elevating repeat guest business to over 40% ⦁ Securing the Fraser Suites Geneva as the 2nd Best Hotel in Geneva ⦁ Crafting successful sales strategies to meet business ambitions ⦁ Presenting solutions to the senior corporate team and owners - Leader ▪ Manager ▪ Coach ⦁ Part of the executive team ⦁ Identifying and mentoring customer teams talent to support sales ⦁ Designing innovative training initiatives for Reception & Reservations ⦁ Specializing in guest satisfaction and negotiation training ⦁ Positioning the brand within the market within target demographics

⦁ Pre-Opening + Opening ⦁ Part of the executive team ⦁ Delivered growth to the accounts database with 100+ new accounts ⦁ Positioned the brand within media to maximise exposure to customers ⦁ Led account management from onboarding to repeat business ⦁ Accountable for developing engaging marketing and press collateral ⦁ A key influencer in the development of sales strategy and approaches

⦁ Entrusted with the management of Government and Corporate accounts ⦁ Mentored new colleagues to achieve swift impacts on sales performance ⦁ Increased corporate accounts by 20% within 1 year ⦁ Handled the increase in demand and RFP activities to boost sales

⦁ Accountable for creating and converting government account leads ⦁ Uplifted engagement to secure 25% increase in room nights ⦁ Received Royal Families, Congressional and Ministerial Delegations ⦁ Exemplified the approach to sales with high-net-worth customers

⦁ Managed high-net-worth branded events for key clients including McLaren Owner’s Club, Audi, Cartier and Daikin. ⦁ Coordinated pre-event sales processes and securing client requirements. ⦁ Closed key deals and coordinated client requests in event planning. ⦁ Controlled budgets, costs and maximised sales conversions.

⦁ A key influencer in the development of new booking and hospitality software in preparation for the London Olympics Games 2012 ⦁ Ensured capacity met demand prior to the booking rush ⦁ Facilitated the booking of 5000+ customers travel plans