Groups Specialist - German Speaking

The Groups Specialist provides a professional, accurate and responsive end-to-end booking service for group customers, travel trade partners and internal sales teams. The role owns group enquiries from initial request through confirmation and handover, coordinating with key internal stakeholders to secure capacity, produce commercially accurate quotations and deliver a seamless customer experience.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Own the end-to-end handling of group enquiries and bookings from initial qualification and quotation through to confirmation and operational handover.
• Identify the customer or partner's requirements, recommend suitable itineraries, departures, cabins and ancillary products, and provide clear, accurate and timely information.
• Request and coordinate group capacity, pricing and commercial approvals with Revenue Management and other relevant teams, escalating time-sensitive requests where required.
• Create and maintain group bookings in Seaware and related systems, ensuring names, allocations, fares, booking conditions, special requirements and supporting notes are complete and accurate.
• Prepare professional group quotations and booking documentation, clearly communicating inclusions, exclusions, payment schedules, option dates, cancellation terms and next steps.
• Monitor option dates, deposits, final balances, passenger information and documentation deadlines; follow up proactively to reduce booking risk and avoid the loss of inventory or revenue.
• Process booking amendments, cancellations, cabin changes and special requests in line with applicable terms, procedures and authority levels.
• Maintain complete and accurate customer, partner and activity records in Salesforce and other systems in accordance with standard operating procedures and data-quality requirements.
• Coordinate with Sales, Revenue, Finance, Land Operations and other internal teams to resolve queries, reconcile booking details and ensure a smooth customer journey.
• Take ownership of customer and partner issues, complaints and service recovery, resolving matters within authority and escalating complex, sensitive or high-risk cases appropriately.
• Communicate important voyage, product or operational updates to partners promptly, using clear and consistent messaging.
• Work to HX's best in class service levels, quality standards while contributing ideas that improve processes, efficiency and customer experience.
• Support peak periods, other markets and wider team priorities where required, and complete all reasonable tasks assigned by the direct supervisor. Contribute to broader team and business priorities as needed.
• Thinks sustainably and brings this mindset to their team and partners.
• Champions the HX Spirits.

Requirements:

• Fluency in German and English is required.
• Experience in maritime, expedition, or cruise industry beneficial but not required.
• Previous experience in customer service, reservations, travel, hospitality, tour operations, cruise or group sales is preferred.
• Strong customer focus and a calm, solutions-led approach, with the ability to adapt communication to different customers, partners and situations.
• Solution orientated with confidence to propose process improvement opportunities, presenting options without compromising service quality.
• Excellent attention to detail and numerical accuracy when managing fares, allocations, payments, deadlines and booking conditions.
• Ability to manage a varied workload, prioritise urgent tasks and handle several cases simultaneously while maintaining ownership and follow-through.
• Clear and confident written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain complex travel or booking information simply.
• Good judgement and problem-solving skills, including knowing when to resolve independently and when to escalate.
• Working knowledge of Salesforce, JIRA, Seaware or comparable CRM, case-management and travel reservation systems is advantageous.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and collaboratively within an international, cross-functional team.
• Tech-forward and adaptable, with a proven ability to quickly learn new systems.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications including Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience working in a multi-national organisation with a global guest mix.

Key Personal Attributes/Behavioural Competencies:

• Safety and Compliance minded for yourself and others.
• High degree of personal integrity and honesty.
• Excited to work in a hybrid work environment to leverage time in person with colleagues across the business.
• Passionate about inclusion and belonging. You take pride in bringing people and different perspectives together to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Clear and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage execution and competing demands.
• Ability to adapt to change in a positive, productive manner.
• Ownership and self-discipline: takes responsibility for cases, follows through on commitments and manages time effectively.
• Collaboration: supports colleagues, shares information and builds productive relationships across teams and markets.
• Adaptability and resilience: remains effective in a fast-paced, changing and occasionally time-pressured environment.
• Customer and results orientation: consistently delivers high-quality outcomes and works towards agreed team and commercial goals.
• Attention to detail and accuracy: approaches work with care and precision to minimise errors and maintain high-quality standards.

Benefits:

We offer 25 days of annual leave, meal allowance, Multisport card contribution, a Mental Health Program, and a hybrid working model (3 days in the office, 2 days working from home). Employees also benefit from our Friends & Family program, which includes two cabins per year to travel to any of our destinations free of charge.

HX Spirit:

• Passionate Explorers: We are proud of our history and are driven to create more.
• 'Can-do' Mindset: We jump-in and proactively contribute to the greater good.
• Humble Leadership: We have a short distance between leaders and teams.
• Genuine Interactions: We want all people to be their true selves.
• Supportive & Collaborative Teams: We are curious and generous with our knowledge. We Trust.