Michelle Thake has joined Solmar Villa Holidays as Senior Trade Sales Manager.
Michelle has previously held positions at Ocean Holidays, Jet2holidays and Ras AI Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, as well as running her own travel retail business.
Marketing Director Sharon Bradbury said: “Michelle has extensive experience of the travel industry and a huge amount of knowledge and insight as to how agents operate and what they need and will be a huge asset to the team as we look to grow our agent partnerships.”
Sharon is also relatively new at Solmar, having joined the senior leadership team earlier this year alongside Product and Commercial Director Gary Horsford, Finance Director Melanie Hopewell and Operations Director Emma-Jane Browning.
Solmar Chief Executive Julie Blake, whose parents started the Burton-on-Trent business almost 30 years ago with just one Spanish villa, said: “We have serious ambitions for growth and the team we have put in place this year will be playing a huge part in driving the business forward.
“They are all great people who are exceptional at what they do and with their support, we are hoping to fulfil our goal of becoming the UK’s primary provider of villas with private pools.”
For 2024, Solmar will have more than 2,000 properties in its European and US portfolio. They include a number of properties that sold by James Villas, which is closing at the end of this year.
Villas on the Ionian coast, Kos, Ibiza and the Peloponnese have all been added as new destinations this year and the company has plans to expand its portfolio further over the next 12 months.