Trade-only B2B luxury villa specialist Onee Luxury Travel has made two appointments to its UK trade team.
Richard Hey has become trade development director while Iain Raeper joins as product and partnership director
Hey will be responsible for developing the profile of the brand within the trade, through events, training sessions and attending trade conferences.
Raeper will be responsible for assisting the team with the growth of the global luxury villa portfolio, and sourcing new products.
Hey started his travel career with Bedsonline in a trade sales role, before moving to If Only as business development manager. More recently he was account manager for Lux Resorts and agency sales manager north for Abercrombie & Kent.
He said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a truly innovative company – which has the goal of becoming the UK’s leading, independently owned trade-only villa specialist.”
Raeper’s previous role was senior product and Commercial Manager for the Leisure Division at EFR Travel. Prior to that, he was Product and commercial manager at If Only. He has also worked with Flying Colours, Amadeus and bmi.
He said: “I look forward to proposing and integrating new business solutions across the company to ensure that we have the operational and personal attributes capable of partnering with our excellent technology capabilities.”
Onur Takmak, founder and interim chief executive of Onee, said: “We already have some great relationships with the UK travel trade and building these still further is at the heart of our strategy for the future.
“Onee is changing the face of luxury villa rental in the UK market – opening up this sector to travel agents and the trade in a meaningful way, through our combination of outstanding product, exceptional technology and our 100% commitment to the travel trade.
“Richard and Iain are part of this change and are absolutely the right people for these roles, with their combined experience working with agents around the country as well as in luxury travel.
“I firmly believe that, particularly in a post-Covid travel world, luxury villas, with the privacy and security they offer are going to become more in demand than ever before.
“Onee opens up a huge selection of luxury properties exclusively to the travel trade – all of which are commissionable and bookable on our state-of-the-art portal.”