Travel trade sales manager Paul Riches is to join rental home specialist Interhome as UK commercial director in October.
Zurich-based Interhome rents private homes to holidaymakers around the Mediterranean, the Alps and in Florida.
Riches left accommodation provider Youtravel.com in August. He had been sales and marketing director at the company since its launch in late 2006, having previously worked at Libra Holidays and before that at Cosmos and Panorama Holidays.
Interhome offers about 30,000 holiday homes in 30 countries and handles more than 550,000 customers a year. The company is owned by Swiss retail group Migros through its subsidiary Hotelplan Holding, also based in Zurich.
Riches will focus on developing the company’s presence in the UK and Ireland.
He said: “Interhome is well-established in Europe and looking to grow its presence in the UK and Ireland through the travel trade. We have a unique product offering that I believe will sell well through online and retail trade distribution.”
Riches added: “We will be looking to make the range of holiday homes and apartments available through as many channels as possible.” He promised: “We will be offering agents competitive commission, combined with a range of special deals and incentives.”
Hans Schenk, Interhome country manager for Benelux, the UK and Ireland, said: “We see lots of possibilities to fulfil our potential market size for vacation rentals and grow the Interhome market from the UK and Ireland.”