Reservations Agent — Boutique Cultural Hotel

Responsibilities

• Manage the complete reservations process for an Oaxaca City boutique hotel: direct phone, email, and WhatsApp bookings alongside OTA channel management — Oaxacan boutique hotels have a strong direct booking culture driven by their social media and newsletter communities
• Communicate the Oaxacan cultural product as the core selling context: the seven moles and Mercado 20 de Noviembre culinary circuit, the artisan villages (Teotitlán del Valle for rugs, San Bartolo Coyotepec for barro negro pottery, Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete for alebrijes), the mezcal palenque circuit in the Valles Centrales, and the Monte Albán and Mitla archaeological access — the reservations agent communicates these specifically and with the cultural knowledge that the sophisticated Oaxacan traveler recognizes as authentic
• Manage the Día de los Muertos booking demand: October 31–November 2 is the most in-demand booking window in Oaxaca — the property's Día de Muertos inventory sells months in advance; the reservations agent manages this period with a waitlist, early closure of lower rates, and proactive promotion to the property's direct booking community in advance of the booking window opening
• Handle the culinary and mezcal tourism market: Oaxaca's international culinary recognition has generated a specific traveler profile — the food writer, the sommelier, the chef, the serious restaurant traveler — who books with specific questions about the property's gastronomy access and the agent's personal knowledge is the differentiator
• Coordinate Monte Albán and Mitla archaeological site visit logistics as part of the booking confirmation: these visits are best experienced early morning — the reservations agent includes timing and transport recommendations in all booking confirmations for guests who express cultural interest
• Manage the Guelagetza folk dance festival period in July: the Guelagetza is Oaxaca's most significant indigenous cultural event and generates strong tourism demand — the reservations agent manages this peak with rate discipline and early booking prioritization

Requirements

• Reservations experience; boutique or cultural tourism property preferred
• English and Spanish bilingual; French or Italian an advantage for Oaxaca's European cultural tourism market
• Deep personal Oaxacan artisan, culinary, and cultural knowledge — the Oaxacan boutique market guest is sophisticated and perceptive
• Día de los Muertos demand management experience
• OTA and direct booking channel management

Benefits

• IMSS, aguinaldo, paid vacation + premium
• Staff meals (often from an excellent Oaxacan kitchen)
• Direct booking conversion bonus
• Día de Muertos season performance bonus
• Career development in Oaxaca's rapidly growing boutique cultural tourism market

Work environment

Reservations agent at an Oaxaca City boutique colonial hotel. Cultural tourism booking management with deep artisan, mezcal, and Día de los Muertos demand expertise for Mexico's most culturally rich and rapidly growing tourism destination.

About the role

The Oaxacan boutique reservations agent who receives an email inquiry from a mezcal sommelier from London who wants 10 nights in October and specifically asks whether the hotel can arrange visits to producers of the endangered agave espadin batequero variety — who responds with the name of two specific palenqueros in the Valles Centrales who work with that variety and who the hotel has a relationship with, who mentions that October 28–November 2 includes the Día de Muertos period, who describes the cemetery vigil at a specific Zapotec community that the hotel can arrange access to with a community-approved guide — has provided a response that this sommelier will share with every hospitality professional in their network before the booking is even confirmed. The reply is the marketing. The reservation is the proof of it.