Experience Planning Manager

Job Title: Experience Planning Manager Location: Spa & Wellness, Miraval The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia Department: Reports To: Position Summary The Experience Planning Manager leads the Experience Planning team and ensures a seamless, personalized guest journey from pre-arrival through departure. Working closely with Reservations, Front Office, Concierge, Sales, Events Planning, F&B and Spa & Wellness Operations, the role ensures guest preferences, wellness intentions, special requests, and stay details are translated into well-planned and balanced itineraries. The role also coordinates the planning of retreats, groups, and special programs, working with Sales & Events Planning and to ensure group itineraries, activities, and wellness experiences are accurately planned and operationally achievable. The Experience Planning Manager oversees the planning and booking process and optimizes schedules and capacity through Book4Time. Strong knowledge of Opera and Book4Time is required to ensure accurate guest information, efficient booking management, and smooth daily operations. Key Responsibilities Experience Planning & Guest Journey · Lead and support the Experience Planning team in delivering personalized and intuitive guest service. · Oversee pre-arrival and in-house itinerary planning based on guest preferences, wellness goals, packages, and special requests. · Ensure guest itineraries are balanced, personalized, and operationally achievable. · Support the team with complex itineraries, VIP guests, special occasions, retreats, groups, and last-minute requests. · Engage directly with guests when additional assistance, service recovery, or management support is required. Reservations, Front Office & Concierge Coordination · Work closely with Reservations and Front Office to review upcoming arrivals and plan and schedule guest itineraries. · Ensure guest preferences, stay details, special requests, VIP information, and package inclusions are communicated and actioned. · Partner with Concierge to coordinate resort activities and other guest requests alongside spa and wellness experiences. · Maintain clear communication and handovers between Experience Planning, Reservations, Front Office, Concierge, and Wellness Operations. · Proactively follow up on outstanding requests to ensure guest needs are fulfilled in a timely manner. Sales, Events, Retreats & Group Coordination · Work closely with Sales, Wellness and Events Planning teams to coordinate itineraries for retreats, groups, and special programs. · Review group requirements, schedules, wellness activities, spa experiences, and special requests to ensure they are accurately planned and communicated. · Coordinate group and retreat bookings in Book4Time, ensuring appropriate capacity and availability are secured. · Ensure clear communication between Sales, Events Planning, Experience Planning, and operational teams before and during group stays. · Support last-minute adjustments and operational changes to ensure retreats and group experiences are delivered smoothly. Book4Time & Booking Optimization · Maintain strong operational ownership and knowledge of Book4Time. · Monitor bookings, availability, practitioner schedules, activity capacity, waitlists, cancellations, and booking patterns. · Optimize bookings and available capacity to ensure smooth operations, healthy experience distribution, and maximum guest satisfaction. · Identify scheduling conflicts, capacity challenges, and booking gaps and coordinate solutions with the Head of Scheduling and operational teams. · Ensure all bookings, changes, cancellations, preferences, and guest notes are accurately maintained in Book4Time. · Monitor high-demand experiences and proactively identify alternatives and solutions for guests. Opera & Guest Information · Maintain strong working knowledge of Opera PMS and use guest profiles and reservation information to support itinerary planning. · Review arrival and departure details, preferences, VIP status, special requests, and stay changes that may impact guest schedules. · Ensure relevant guest information is accurately aligned between Opera and Book4Time. · Coordinate with Reservations and Front Office on any changes affecting guest bookings or itineraries. Operations & Performance · Monitor daily schedules to ensure bookings are accurate, balanced, and aligned with operational capacity. · Work closely with the Head of Scheduling and Wellness Operations to optimize experience utilization and availability. · Monitor booking conversion, utilization, guest satisfaction, and relevant Experience Planning performance indicators. · Support revenue generation through thoughtful recommendations and appropriate upselling of spa and wellness experiences. · Identify operational gaps and implement practical solutions to improve efficiency and the guest experience. Team Leadership & Collaboration · Coach, train, and develop Experience Planners to maintain high standards of service and opera