Direct Travel (No. 13 on Travel Weekly's Power List) has restructured its leisure division, streamlining teams to provide more support for travel advisors, increase sales growth and set a strong foundation of data.
Joelle Goldman, vice president of host services and the luxury hotel program, will lead the Host Services division. Direct Travel said its sales-focused model will serve advisors based on their needs, not on geography.
Julie Skinner, senior vice president of leisure sales, will oversee the agency's employee advisors in North America.
Bringing the Retail division together will result in more consistent sales support and training, Direct Travel said.
Vivienne Kouba, senior vice president of leisure operations, will lead a newly consolidated operations team. The team will support Retail and Host Services advisors in North America, streamlining workflows and standardizing service levels.
Rene Schneeberger, senior vice president of groups and revenue optimization, will work to expand Direct Travel's leisure business after the agency's acquisition of ATPI (No. 13 on the Power List) last month. Schneeberger will continue to lead the North America Groups team.
Rebecca Adams, previously senior director of leisure supplier management, has been named vice president of data strategy and insights, leisure travel. Adams will focus on unifying data sources to deliver better analytics. That will be used as the foundation for technology to assist advisors.
Stephen Smith, previously senior vice president of leisure travel, has been named executive vice president of leisure travel. His expanded role includes partnerships, strategy, marketing and leisure technology.
Gerard Bellino, president of leisure travel, said the restructuring better positions Direct Travel in the marketplace.
"By centering our structure on advisors' success -- supported by data, technology and world-class partnerships -- we're equipping our teams to move faster, personalize service at scale and capture growth opportunities across every leisure segment," Bellino said.