- CHSP stands for Certified Hospitality Sales Professional, an AHLA-endorsed credential administered by AHLEI.
- The current product specifies 100 questions, two hours, a 70% passing score and a required proctor.
- The published competencies form fourteen topics in two groups: markets and market segments, and sales functions.
- The official application, online study guide and exam bundle is currently priced at USD $398.
What the CHSP Credential Is
CHSP stands for Certified Hospitality Sales Professional. It is a professional credential aimed at people who sell hotel rooms, meeting space, catered events and related hospitality services. It is not a general sales certificate, and it is not a clinical, safety or compliance designation. The content centers on how lodging and event operations find, win and keep business.
If you have seen the same four letters attached to other fields, set those aside. This guide covers only the hospitality sales credential. For related background, our explainers on what CHSP stands for and the meaning of CHSP cover the naming question from different angles.
The credential signals that you understand the full sales cycle in a hospitality property: how a marketing plan is built, how different guest segments are approached, how a sales office runs, how reservations and revenue management shape what you can sell, and how to close business in person and by phone. Because the exam spans both strategy and day-to-day selling mechanics, it suits sales coordinators, sales managers, catering sales staff and revenue-minded hoteliers who want a recognized benchmark of their knowledge.
Who Issues It and How the Exam Is Delivered
The certification is administered by AHLEI (the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute) and is endorsed by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Candidates purchase through the issuer's storefront, and the exam is delivered through the ExamFlex platform in online or print form with an approved proctor. No separate external testing vendor has been verified for this credential, so you should not expect a walk-in appointment at a third-party testing center as a given.
Because delivery is tied to an application and an approved proctor, scheduling works differently from exams you can book on demand. Our guide to CHSP exam dates and scheduling walks through what to expect, and the main CHSP practice test site lets you start building familiarity with the subject matter while you sort out logistics.
The Exam at a Glance
| Item | What the current issuer product specifies |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 100 |
| Time allowed | 2 hours |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Proctor | Required |
| Delivery | ExamFlex, online or print, with an approved proctor |
| Retakes | Two retake purchases within one year of application approval |
| Item format | Not specified by the current product |
| Scored/unscored split | Not publicly disclosed |
| Observed pass rate | Not publicly disclosed |
Two hours for 100 questions averages out to roughly 72 seconds per question. That is a comfortable pace for recall-based items and a tighter one for scenario questions, so it pays to practice reading a hospitality sales situation quickly and identifying what is actually being asked.
Older descriptions of this credential sometimes describe a multiple-choice format. The current product does not specify the item format, so treat any such description as unverified and prepare for a range of question styles. Our passing score breakdown explains how a 70% threshold translates across 100 questions, and the pass rate article explains why no official pass rate figure can be cited.
The Fourteen Competency Topics
The issuer publishes fourteen competencies, organized as fourteen subordinate topics under two parent groups. This is an important distinction: there are fourteen topics, not sixteen, and the two group headings are not additional topics. These topics describe what the credential covers, but they are not an official weighted blueprint. Percentages, scored-question allocations and a blueprint revision date are unpublished, so do not assume any topic is worth a fixed share of your score.
Group one: markets and market segments
The first seven topics, running from the introductory material through marketing to special segments, deal with who you sell to and how you plan to reach them.
Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales
The foundation: how marketing and sales work together in a lodging operation and why the two functions are distinct but interdependent.
- Terminology you will see in every later topic
- How sales activity supports property goals
The Marketing Plan: The Cornerstone of Sales
Why a written plan anchors everything the sales team does.
- Situation analysis and objective setting
- Tying tactics to measurable goals
- Evaluating results against the plan
Marketing to Business Travelers
The corporate and transient business segment, including what drives repeat bookings and account relationships.
Marketing to Leisure Travelers
Reaching vacationing guests, with attention to how motivations and booking behavior differ from the business segment.
Marketing to Travel Agents
The intermediary channel: how agents influence booking decisions and how a property works with them.
Marketing to Meeting Planners
Winning group and meeting business, including what planners evaluate when choosing a venue.
Marketing to Special Segments
Niche and specialty markets that require tailored approaches rather than a one-size-fits-all pitch.
Group two: sales functions
The final seven topics, from managing the sales office through marketing catered events and meeting rooms, cover how selling actually gets done.
Managing the Marketing and Sales Office
Organization, staffing, systems and workflow inside the sales department.
Reservations
How the reservations function connects to sales and what happens between an inquiry and a confirmed booking.
Revenue Management
Pricing and inventory decisions that determine which business is worth accepting and when.
- How demand patterns affect selling decisions
- Balancing rate, occupancy and segment mix
Personal Sales
Face-to-face selling: preparing for a call, presenting, handling objections and closing.
Telephone Sales
The phone as a sales channel, including structuring a call and following up effectively.
Internal Marketing and Sales
Selling inside the property: engaging colleagues and departments so every guest touchpoint supports revenue.
Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms
Promoting and selling banquet, catering and function-space business.
For a deeper treatment of each area, see our complete guide to all 14 CHSP content areas.
Who Qualifies to Apply
Eligibility is built around real hospitality sales work rather than a degree or a fixed number of training hours. Under the current global issuer product:
- You need at least 50% of your duties to be in qualifying hospitality sales.
- You need six months in position.
- An existing Supervisor, Manager, Department Head or Executive certification eliminates the time requirement.
- An accredited academic degree eliminates the six-month requirement.
No universal degree requirement, experience-hour minimum, training-hour minimum or reference count has been verified. The issuer's roughly 40 hours of self-paced review material describes study time, not a mandatory training minimum, and a provider's twelve-hour course is not a universal prerequisite either. For the full walkthrough, see CHSP requirements and how to qualify.
Fees, Bundles and Retakes
The current official offering is a bundle that combines the application, the online study guide and the exam, listed at USD $398. A member versus non-member price split and a standalone exam-only price are not disclosed in the reviewed sources, so avoid quoting figures for either.
| Cost element | Status |
|---|---|
| Application, online study guide and exam bundle | USD $398 (current official price) |
| Exam-only price | Undisclosed |
| Member vs. non-member split | Undisclosed |
| Retake fee | Unverified; two retake purchases allowed within one year of application approval |
| Renewal fee | USD $102 (current official fee) |
The one-year window starts at application approval, not at your first exam attempt. That matters if your approval comes through well before you feel ready: the clock is running while you study. Our pricing breakdown pulls the cost items into one place, and the ROI analysis helps you weigh them against career outcomes.
Keeping the Credential Current
The credential runs on a five-year renewal cycle with professional development. Current issuer guidance calls for 50 recertification points within five years and again every five years thereafter, with a current official renewal fee of USD $102.
Key Takeaway
Do not assume recertification points equal CEU hours. The issuer's points system is its own, and the detailed rules on what evidence qualifies must be followed as published by the current program. Check the issuer's recertification guidance before you start logging activities.
Where the Credential Fits in a Hospitality Career
The employers who value this credential are the ones with sales departments: full-service and convention hotels, resorts, conference centers, event venues and catering operations. The competency list tells you which roles map most naturally to the content: sales coordinators and managers who work accounts, catering and banquet sales staff who sell function space, and revenue-oriented roles that sit close to reservations and pricing decisions.
Because the material runs from segment strategy to reservations and revenue management, the credential also appeals to hospitality professionals moving from an operations role into sales, who need a structured way to demonstrate they understand the commercial side. No specific salary or placement statistics can be responsibly attached to the credential, since none were verified. Our salary guide and CHSP jobs overview discuss earnings and roles in qualitative terms.
Sequencing Your Preparation
The best way to organize preparation is by following the structure of the competencies themselves rather than a generic calendar. Because the two groups build on each other, learn the segments before the functions, and leave revenue management for a point when you already understand the segments it prices.
Foundations and planning
- Introduction to Hospitality Marketing and Sales
- The Marketing Plan: The Cornerstone of Sales
The five segment topics
- Business travelers, leisure travelers, travel agents, meeting planners, special segments
- Compare how each segment buys, since questions often hinge on telling them apart
Office, reservations and revenue
- Managing the Marketing and Sales Office, Reservations
- Revenue Management, once segment behavior is clear
Selling skills and events
- Personal Sales and Telephone Sales
- Internal Marketing and Sales; Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms
- Full-length timed practice at 100 questions in two hours
Our CHSP study guide expands on this approach, and the one-page cheat sheet works well as a final-week review. To gauge how demanding the material feels, read how hard the CHSP exam is, then test yourself with the practice questions on the main site.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified Hospitality Sales Professional. It is administered by AHLEI and endorsed by AHLA, and it covers hospitality marketing and sales topics such as segments, revenue management and catered events.
The current issuer product specifies 100 questions, a two-hour time limit and a 70% passing score, with a required proctor. The item format and scored/unscored split are not specified.
No universal degree, experience-hour or training-hour requirement has been verified. Eligibility centers on spending at least 50% of your duties in qualifying hospitality sales and six months in position, with reductions available for certain certifications or an accredited degree.
The current global product allows two retake purchases within one year from application approval. The retake fee is not verified in the reviewed sources, so confirm the amount with the issuer before purchasing.
It runs on a five-year renewal cycle. Current issuer guidance calls for 50 recertification points within five years, and the current official renewal fee is USD $102. Points are not automatically equivalent to CEU hours.