Hoseasons has restructured its trade sales division with two new appointments to follow the departure of head of sales Zena Calderbank.
Tariq Khan (pictured) joins from Tui Travel as the new head of trade sales, and Sally Henry, head of partnerships for the Hoseasons group, has been promoted to sales director in a new role, responsible for all third party trade sales channels. Henry will report directly into managing director Simon Altham.
Calderbank, who is well-known in the trade, is on gardening leave until the end of July. She decided to leave the business for personal reasons after eight years.
Altham said the decision to effectively split Calderbank’s previous role in two, including a new, more senior role to focus on trade relationships with online travel agencies as well as traditional high-street agents, showed the group’s commitment to the trade.
He said: “I see a big opportunity to show the trade we are very focused on growing this side of the business, be it in the traditional sense or through the new channels with OTAs.
“We want to grow our trade sales and if we can find new routes to market then we are really keen to talk to people but I still think there is growth to come from our high street partners. It’s also about continuing to educate the trade about our product.
“It’s exciting to now have a single senior leader for both our partnerships with OTAs and what you would class as traditional agents. People in the trade will also recognise Tariq from Tui; he has a real passion for the UK and I see him as one of the future stars of the industry.”
Travel agent sales currently make up around a third of the Hoseasons group’s trade business and Altham remains confident there is potential to increase this to 50% of sales, which it has accounted for in the past, as part of a three to five-year plan.
Currently, lodge holidays account for nearly 70% of Hoseasons’ sales, and the operator is keen to establish itself in the luxury market as the natural brand of choice, particularly for upmarket UK breaks.
Henry, who returns from maternity leave at the end of August, will have responsibility for third party sales channels across all brands in the Wyndham Vacation Rentals UK portfolio, which includes Hoseasons, Cottages4you and Villas4you.
Tariq Khan will spearhead Hoseasons’ trade activity, build relationships with new and existing partners and manage the four-strong agency sales team on the road and four-strong office team. He joins from Tui Travel, where he was commercial manager for the domestic and short breaks market. He starts on August 4.