Olympic Holidays has appointed Michael Vinales as its new director of sales and revenue as it announces its new-look web portal for the trade.
The former Cosmos Tours product, commercial and sales director started in his new role at the start of this month after three months as a consultant with the business.
Vinales is responsible for reservations, agency sales and yield teams, and reports directly into chief executive Clare Tobin based in the company’s north London office.
He brings more than 30 years’ experience to the role, including roles at Sunworld, Thomas Cook, TV Travel Shop, Monarch, and most recently Cosmos Tours.
Tobin, who was promoted to chief executive last month, said: “I’m really excited to welcome Michael to the senior team, and add his experience particularly in aviation, commercial, product and sales.
“He joined us as a consultant earlier this year as we finalised our scheduled flight programme, a crucial component in the further development of the flexible flights and holiday experiences we offer.
“His ability to revenue manage charter, low cost and scheduled programmes is invaluable. Michael’s industry relationships are very strong and have been established over many years, which is another great asset as we continue to support our agent network. I am delighted to welcome Michael permanently to the team.”
Vinales’ appointment follows the retirement of commercial director Photis Lambrianides from the operator in August and a number of other high-profile appointments by the operator, including former Travelsupermarket.com channel manager Donna Allcock as product and commercial director, Reeva Kingston as operations director and Ricky Wason in a new role as head of purchasing from dnata Travel. Previous chief executive George Michalias recently assumed the new role of chairman.
Vinales’ appointment comes as the business ramps up the way it works with agents and switches off agent booking system Viewdata.
Its agency portal has been overhauled to include a new search grid, called Holiday Deals Calender, replacing Viewdata, and new downloadable posters which agents can personalise to put in shop windows. Agents can now search multiple holidays on certain dates across all types of accommodation.
The Holiday Deals Calender went live last week, and personalised downloadable posters are available from this week.
The operator has also appointed two new business development managers. Sarah Hillier replaces Fontini Georgiou for the south region and Emma Hilton replaces Sandra Bolton as BDM for the north of England region.