The everyday problem
DGS
Director of Group Sales
"A corporate planner emails asking to hold 40 rooms for a conference. If that request sits in one salesperson's inbox, we lose it to a competing property that responded first."
Without one shared system for group inquiries, response time depends on which inbox the email lands in. Rate exceptions can go out without sign-off, and room-block confirmations can double-book if they're not synced with the property management system.
What good looks like
Every inquiry gets a same-day response. Rate exceptions always get sign-off before a client sees a number. Room inventory stays in sync automatically.What you're building
| Record type | Kind | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | Standard (built-in) | The group booking inquiry, from a website RFP form or a forwarded email |
| Contact / Account | Standard (built-in) | The event planner Contact and the Corporate Account |
| Opportunity | Standard (built-in) | The Group Booking: room count, dates, estimated revenue |
| Room Block | Custom (you build it) | Pushed to the property management system once confirmed |
Business outcome
- Every inquiry gets a same-day response, not whenever an inbox gets checked
- Rate exceptions always get sign-off before a client sees a number
- Room inventory stays in sync with the property system automatically
Step-by-step build
Do these six pieces in order. Total time: roughly 35–45 minutes the first time through.
1 Capture the inquiry
Set up the RFP formSetup → Object Manager → Lead → Sharing tab → Web-to-Lead section, embedded on your group-sales page.
Or process forwarded emails automaticallyIntegrations → Webhooks → register an inbound Webhook so a forwarded RFP email creates a Lead the moment it's received.
2 Open the group deal
Convert the LeadCreates the Corporate Account and event-planner Contact — see the Lead-to-Cash Trail.
Create the OpportunityAdd "Room Count" and "Event Dates" custom fields on Opportunity to capture the group booking's specifics.
3 Gate rate exceptions
Create the approval processSetup → Approval Processes → New Process. Object: Opportunity.
Set the entry conditione.g.
rate_discount__c > standard_floor__c — any discount below the standard rate floor triggers review.Add the approval stepStep 1: Director of Sales. No proposal goes out until it's approved.
4 Move the deal forward
Create the workflow ruleSetup → Workflow Rules → New Rule. Object: Opportunity. Trigger: On Update, when Stage changes.
Set the actionNotification to the events team, for each stage: Proposal Sent → Contract → Deposit Received.
5 Sync room inventory
Create the Room Block objectSetup → Object Manager → New Object. Label: "Room Block", Plural Label: "Room Blocks". Add an "Opportunity" LOOKUP field.
Connect it outboundIntegrations → Webhooks → register an outbound Webhook triggered on
roomblock.created, pointed at the property management system's endpoint.6 Track the comp plan
Create the reportReports → New Report. Object: Opportunity. Fields: Sales Rep, Amount, Close Date.
Filter and groupFilter: Stage = Closed Won AND Close Date = This Quarter. Group by: Sales Rep.
Save itName it "Group Revenue Booked by Sales Rep This Quarter" — this drives commission payouts.
Day-to-day: sales reps
New inquiry arrivesA Lead appears automatically from the form or forwarded email — respond the same day.
Submit rate exceptionsAny discount below the standard floor gets submitted for approval before a proposal goes out.
Day-to-day: events team
Get notified at every stageA notification arrives as the Opportunity moves through Proposal Sent → Contract → Deposit Received.
Confirm the room blockOnce confirmed, the Room Block record syncs automatically to the property management system — no manual double-booking risk.
Day-to-day: director of sales
Review rate exceptionsCheck the Approval Inbox for pending discount requests.
Check the quarterly reportOpen "Group Revenue Booked by Sales Rep This Quarter" to drive the incentive comp plan.
What to try next
Look at the Approval Processes and Integrations trails to go deeper on the pieces used here.