CV Villas revamps luxury brand as head of marketing joins

The new boss of CV Villas has hailed the increasing importance of travel trade sales as the company has recruited Ben Briggs as its new head of marketing.

The Kuoni sister brand has also revamped its Above luxury brand, which offers villas with a chef, concierge and daily maid service.

Pete Brudenell, who was promoted to the role of managing director at the start of June, said Briggs will start on Monday (July 11) and has experience with operators such as Abercrombie & Kent and Wendy Wu Tours.

“We’re very much looking to plan for the next three to five years and how the business can continue to grow off the back of two very successful years,” he said.

“Ben Briggs has got a good, well-known background within travel. It’s a pretty exciting time.”

The brand is also looking to expand its trade team with another recruit to support business development manager Chris Etheridge, who plans to offer more training for agents.

“We’re looking to get somebody else in exclusively for the trade to help Chris and they’ll be able to get out on the road a lot more. We really were investing in the trade,” said Brudenell.

He said the refreshed Above brand offers a particular opportunity for agents as trade sales tend to be higher value than direct bookings.

“Above is a very different experience and a different customer…they’re not impacted so much by what’s going on in the world,” he said.

Etheridge and the Greek National Tourism Organisation recently took agents to Corfu with Travel Weekly sister brand Aspire to explore villas in the Above range, and more fams are planned amid other trade activities.

Brudenell said: “Travel agents are very important to the business. In 2022, 26% of our business was through the trade and for 2023 that is up to 30%.

“And when it comes to Above, it is a slightly higher share. The Above bookings through the trade have a significantly higher average order value.

“We hoping to attract the real top end of the market and with the trade we can really go after those customers that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to find or talk to.”

The average booking is about £15-16,000 a week, and the properties range from £10,000 up to £50,000 a week.

“People see you get the benefit of a villa with the luxury of a five-star hotel resort,” said Brudenell.

“It is, in essence, the best of both worlds.”

Overall, CV Villas offers 805 villas, 75 of which are in the Above collection, across the Mediterranean and Europe, Morocco and Caribbean.

Sales are up by 32% so far compared to the same period in 2019, and tracking at a “similar level” to those in 2022.

Brudenell said the company is seeing more bookings for multi-generational families and large celebrations following the relaxation of pandemic restrictions – as well as more packages and add-ons.

“We’ve had small [price] increases obviously…and we’ve tried to negotiate with villa owners to keep those to a minimum,” he added.

Flight prices have also risen but he pointed out that CV Villas also has a charter to Corfu – its biggest destination – and has kept prices “pretty flat” year on year.

New destinations include Rhodes and Bordeaux and the company is “exploring the possibility” of adding villas in Thailand and Bali to its portfolio.

It also aims to offer more exclusive villas, plus a wider range of experiences such as cookery classes, massages and wine tours, said Brudenell.

He highlighted how villas give clients more freedom, space and privacy than a hotel – and can offer more value for money.

“Luxury villas sleep 10 to 12 people and if you’ve got a big group, it can be a very cost-effective way to holiday,” he said.

“We’ve also got more properties that are more affordable in destinations such as Turkey where you can get really good value.

“We help the agents to match people with the right villa.”

Currently the brand has about 62 staff, with 32 in the UK and another 30 overseas.