Business Development · Hospitality · London

Arif
Panjwani

From the front desk to global sales.

Seventeen years in hospitality — and I did every job on the way up. I started on reception at the Holiday Inn Express London City in 2009. Today I'm an Account Director in IHG's global sales team at the Windsor head office.

Ask my AI about my career Download the CV (PDF)
Arif Panjwani, photographed at the IHG head office in Windsor.
17 yearsin hospitality, one industry, nine roles
IHG Global SalesAccount Director, Windsor head office
HSMAI Europefinalist, Sales Professional of the Year
4 languagesEnglish, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu
01

The climb

2009 → today

Most people in business development have never worked an arrival list. I ran reservations through the pandemic — refunds, date transfers, book-outs, a UK Government contract — before moving to the other side of the table to negotiate for the group. In a commercial discussion, I know what a hotel can actually deliver.

Sep 2023 — present

Account Director, IHG Global Sales — Business Development

IHG Hotels & Resorts HQ, Windsor

  • Identify, develop and convert new business across the groups and events sector — event planners, associations, corporate clients, leisure agencies and travel management partners.
  • Build sales plans around new client acquisition, retention, revenue growth and deeper account penetration across IHG's global portfolio.
  • Lead commercial discussions and contract negotiations with clients and hotels, balancing client objectives against brand, hotel and revenue priorities.
  • Represent IHG at IMEX Frankfurt, PCMA EMEA, The Business Show and account workshops.
  • Use account mapping and revenue reviews to find upsell and cross-sell opportunities through IHG One Rewards, IHG Business Rewards and IHG Business Edge.
  • Monitor revenue production reports and investigate discrepancies with hotels and internal teams. Support onboarding and training for new team members.

Jun 2022 — Aug 2023

Corporate Sales Manager

Crowne Plaza London – Kings Cross

  • Handled corporate, group and meetings & events enquiries from agents and direct clients.
  • Hosted show-rounds, supported local negotiated rate accounts, produced rate agreements, booking links and system requests.
  • Worked with reservations, revenue and events teams so bookings, RFPs and meeting enquiries were recorded correctly in Meeting Broker, Venue Directory and hotel systems.
  • Produced sales statistics, conference summaries, budget trackers and rate grids.
  • Represented the hotel at IHG Expo, WTM and IHG Account Workshops.

Apr 2020 — Jun 2022

Sales Manager / Reservations Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City

  • Ran reservations through the pandemic: date transfers, deposit movements, refunds, no-shows, cancellation charges and guest communication.
  • Maintained OTA extranets and booking platforms — Booking.com, Expedia, WebBeds.
  • Supported an exclusive UK Government contract: reservations, invoicing, front-desk cover, book-outs, daily arrival checks and operational reporting.
  • Trained new starters on front desk and reservations.

Apr 2018 — Mar 2020

Sales Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City

  • Worked with the General Manager on sales targets, sales and marketing plans, RFPs on Lanyon, new corporate client research and weekly revenue meetings.

Feb 2016 — Mar 2018

Business Development Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City

Feb 2013 — Feb 2016

Leisure Sales Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City

Apr 2012 — Feb 2013

Reservations Manager / Groups Coordinator

Holiday Inn Express London City

May 2011 — Mar 2012

Reservations Agent / Duty Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City

Apr 2009 — Apr 2011

Receptionist / Duty Manager

Holiday Inn Express London City — where it started

02

What I do

Commercial

  • Business development
  • Global sales
  • Contract negotiation
  • Key account planning
  • Strategic account management
  • Revenue generation

Groups & events

  • Meetings & events
  • Groups and corporate sales
  • RFPs and rate agreements
  • Reservations and operations
  • Meeting Broker, Venue Directory, Lanyon

People

  • Client relationship management
  • Presentation and networking
  • Team training and mentoring
  • Industry representation
03

Recognition & background

Recognition

  • 2024Finalist, HSMAI Awards Europe 2024 — Sales Professional of the Year
  • 2024Newcomer of the Year — IHG Hotels & Resorts HQ, Windsor
  • 2024Employee of the Month — IHG Hotels & Resorts HQ, Windsor
  • 2010Employee of the Quarter — Holiday Inn Express London City
  • 2009Student of the Year — EThames Graduate School, UK

Education

  • 2010MBA — University of Wales, UK
  • 2008Bachelor of Commerce — Osmania University, India

Languages

  • English — professional
  • Hindi — native
  • Gujarati — native
  • Urdu — native

Systems & tools

  • Opera · Concerto · Javelin
  • OXI · OnQ
  • Meeting Broker
  • Venue Directory · Lanyon
  • OTA extranets
  • MS Office
04

What a partner says

I've known Arif since around 2012 — before Best of Tours even existed. We've worked together on London group business ever since: first when he was on the hotel side, now from IHG's global sales team. What I value isn't that he's easy to deal with, though he is. It's that he knows the trade from the inside. He has run a front desk, he has run reservations, and he understands what a group operator actually needs from a hotel before we've finished asking. You get a straight answer, and he does what he said he would.

05

Ask me anything

I've built an AI version of myself so you don't have to wait for a callback to find out whether I'm right for your role. Click my face in the corner and talk to it — out loud, in your own words, at eleven at night if that suits you.

It only knows what's on my CV. Ask it about revenue, salary or why I'm looking, and it will tell you honestly that those are mine to answer, and offer to put us in touch. It won't invent anything on my behalf.

It says up front that it's an AI. If you'd rather just email me, that's below.

Illustrated avatar of Arif Panjwani used by his AI assistant.
06

Get in touch

Email
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Phone
Based in
London, United Kingdom
Full CV
Download the PDF