Former Tui sales boss hails agent opportunities in cottage sector

Hoseasons owner Awaze is seeing a “brilliant” start to 2026, according to former Tui director Belinda Vazquez, who joined the holiday rentals group on Monday (January 19).

She becomes director of owner success and growth for the Cottages.com brand, along with four other senior appointments as Awaze signalled a move to accelerate growth.

Vazquez said it was a “super exciting time to be joining in this growth period” and highlighted the group’s “enormous” range of cottages across the UK.

She also pointed to comments by group chief commercial officer Simon Altham who said on LinkedIn that 2026 has “got off to a brilliant start across Awaze”.

Furthermore, its trade-friendly brand Hoseasons is seeing “strong double-digit year-on-year growth” during this peaks season, he added.

Vazquez said she is looking forward to discovering more about UK tourism, after spending 25 years with Tui.  

She left the travel giant last year as her role was being centralised, adding: “This was a great opportunity to try something new.”

After taking the summer off to explore Cornwall and Wales – and staying in a Cottages.com property – she found that she liked the “cultural fit” of the Awaze brand and team.

Spanning Britain from Scotland to Cornwall, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, the cottages in the Cottages.com portfolio can also be booked by travel agents through Hoseasons.

Asked if agents will be able to sell via Cottages.com in the future, she said: “I’m keen to get into the role more before I can comment. But at the moment, agents can book Hoseasons and the cottages through them – they have a fantastic range.”

Furthermore, Awaze has revived the James Villas brand and said at the time it looking to bring trade partners on board “from early 2026”.

She said cottage breaks offer opportunities for agents to build customer loyalty by offering more getaways during the year in addition to their main overseas holiday.

Domestic breaks offer great flexibility in terms of short durations, bookings close to departure, groups such as families or friends, and prices from budget to luxury.

Properties with hot tubs are particularly popular and families can also stay with their dogs – which is not an option for overseas holidays, she noted.

Vazquez is also remaining as a trustee of Abta Lifeline, which is a charity set up to help people in the travel industry when they need it the most.