World Travel Holdings (WTH UK) has recruited Sharon Hodgkiess to take up the new role of sales and customer experience director, covering all three of its brands.
Hodgkiess has previously held senior retail and contact centre roles, including head of sales and service for Tui’s Specialist Holidays Group, which was sold off to Travelopia in 2016, and global head of sales and distribution at Great Rail Journeys.
WTH UK managing director Alison Earnshaw said Hodgkiess’ appointment brought “a new level of specialism and expertise to our customer-facing position”.
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Hodgkiess, who has more than 25 years’ travel industry experience, will work within the Cruise118, SixStarCruises and RiverVoyages brands at WTH UK.
“Her approach and ethos matches that of our business, which was fundamental to us in terms of the appointment of this position,” Earnshaw said.
“Within our sales and service centre we have a number of highly experienced and committed sales, service managers and concierge staff, along with some fantastic new team members who have joined in the last 18 months bringing new approaches and enthusiasm to the team, and Sharon’s role will provide leadership, direction and development in taking this aspiring and determined team forwards.”
Hodgkiess (pictured) said it was an “exciting time of growth” at WTH UK, adding: “The company’s values, culture and passion for their customers really resonated with me.
“The plans for the coming years are ambitious and I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge and experience from previous roles and projects to help in achieving these goals.”
Earnshaw added: “We’re seeing some promising sales levels particularly at the higher end of the market and, notwithstanding the obvious political and cost of living challenges, we’re extremely confident in the future and our ability to deliver on our ambitious plans for the UK business.
“The appointment of Sharon, and other roles recently added to our structure, will enable us to capitalise on the technical investments and advancements we have implemented alongside those developments still in progress which will bear fruit in 2023 and beyond.”