Awaze bolsters leadership team with senior strategic hires to accelerate growth

Awaze, Europe’s largest provider of holiday rentals, has strengthened its leadership team with a series of senior strategic appointments.

Awaze has created five new roles signalling strong momentum and its ambitions for the future as the business enters 2026. Each of the individuals brings deep expertise either from within the travel industry or consumer-led businesses. Together, they will play a key role in delivering Awaze’s long-term growth strategy, enhancing the experience for guests and owners and the company’s digital capabilities.

Awaze has appointed Directors of Owner Success and Growth across four of its core brands, who will be responsible for maintaining and enhancing Awaze’s high-quality and long-term relationships with owners and strategic partners across the industry.

Michelle Baillie has been appointed Director of Owner Success and Growth for Hoseasons. Michelle joins from luxury holiday homes specialist Cornish Gems, where she was Managing Director. She previously held senior leadership roles at Thomas Cook and TUI, bringing over 30 years’ experience in the industry across retail, customer experience, sales and strategy.

Belinda Vasquez will join Awaze on 19 January 2026 as Director of Owner Success and Growth for cottages.com. Belinda joins from TUI, where she spent more than 25 years in a range of senior leadership roles across commercial, purchasing, aviation, sales and distribution, most recently as Director of Sales and Service.

Ben Lyall has been appointed as Director of Pricing Strategy & Capabilities. Ben will lead pricing strategy, governance, and capability development across the Group, ensuring data-led pricing decisions that balance guest demand, inventory dynamics, channel economics, and owner outcomes. Ben joins from Gousto, where he led Customer Service & Retention, and brings more than 20 years’ experience in senior commercial roles.

Mike Francis has been appointed as Director of Owner Lifecycle. Mike joins from Ocado and previously held senior positions at Very Group and Tesco. He brings significant expertise in in end-to-end lifecycle management and will focus on using data and AI to optimise the end-to-end owner journey, strengthening retention, efficiency and net unit growth.

Alex Loftus, who joined Awaze in 2021, will move into the role of Director of Owner Success and Growth for Novasol and James Villas, which Awaze relaunched in December 2025 to enhance the scale and breadth of its European holiday offering for British guests. Alex brings deep industry experience from previous roles at TUI and easyJet and continues to play a pivotal role in driving Awaze’s growth across Europe.

Matthew Price, CEO of Awaze, commented: “Attracting individuals of this calibre to these newly created roles reflects the strength and ambition of our business, and I look forward to working closely with this group of exceptional leaders. With demand growing across our brands, our continued investment in outstanding talent alongside data and technology is enabling us to scale and accelerate our expansion across Europe. Our focus remains firmly on delivering unrivalled experiences for our guests while helping owners unlock the full value of their properties, and this strengthened leadership team will be central to the next phase of Awaze’s growth”.