Sam Willan, who has previously worked for travel discount firm StudentUniverse and international social media site gapyear.com, will take up his new role on 1 December.
The villa specialist said Willan will be responsible for the consumer and trade marketing strategies and building stronger partnerships with agents and consortia. SPL has grown its agent business by a third this year, while average booking values have jumped by “nearly 30%”.
Willan said: “Following the investment made in the brand and back-end technology, and the great work done in building positive relationships with agents by the business development team, I’m excited to be joining SPL Villas at this time – and by the opportunities there are to grow these numbers further in 2025.”
Laura Ingeri, who was recently promoted to general manager from her head of product and commercial role, believes having a dedicated marketing lead will help SPL “accelerate the momentum”.
SPL enjoyed it busiest-ever October thanks to a 75% increase in total bookings compared with September.
Villa-only bookings and villa-plus-flight package bookings from the trade grew by 50% month-on-month. Combined, these bookings account for around two-thirds of SPL’s business.
“I’m looking forward to working with Sam in my new role, and with him maximising the investments made in the brand and technology to capitalise on the surge in interest in villa holidays during 2024, particularly demonstrated by our bookings in October,” said Ingeri.
Managing director Edward Frampton-Fell said: “It’s great to be heading in to the end of the year and the all-important peaks period with such momentum. We’re feeling very confident about the year ahead.”
It comes after the villa specialist agreed a deal with The Travel Network Group to expand its trade distribution network in April. The agreement means TTNG’s 1,000-plus agents can sell the villa brand’s 1,500 properties across more than 100 destinations.
