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✨Strengthening Local Holiday Ownership Support in Whitby Today we launched our second James Collection brand store in Whitby as part of a new pilot program – expanding Awaze’s premium managed holiday offering in Yorkshire. The new store will give owners full support across bookings, guest communications and property care, as well as access to local teams who understand the market, guest profile and what makes our destinations like Whitby distinctive - helping them meet growing demand for more personalised stays.
Today we launched the first James Collection brand store on Southwold's high street as part of a new pilot programme - bringing Awaze’s professionally managed service offering to Suffolk for the first time. James Collection brings together Awaze’s portfolio of high-quality villas, cottages and lodges in response to growing demand for personalised holidays in the UK. The new store gives owners full support across bookings, guest communications and property care, as well as access to on-the-ground support through local teams who understand the market, guest profile and what makes destinations like Southwold distinctive. 👇 Find out more via the link https://www.awaze.com/blog/james-collection-launch/
As we mark International Women’s Day yesterday and continue investing in strong, inclusive leadership, we’re proud to share that 10 of our UK female leaders have just graduated from Google’s Power for Partners (POWER) programme - a nine-month mentoring and development journey. Thanks to our own Jennifer Day (Chief Growth Officer), who is a mentor in the programme, we had the opportunity to be part of this experience. POWER brings together women from partner organisations and agencies in small peer groups, led by senior female mentors. Through open conversations, leadership masterclasses and cross-industry networking, the programme creates space to reflect, build skills and grow in confidence. Over the nine months, our leaders gained: 💬 Strong peer networks built on trust and shared experience 🌱 Greater clarity on their leadership style and career direction 🎯 Practical tools to strengthen strategic thinking and personal brand 🤝 Deeper insight into inclusive leadership and how to lift others as they grow Graduating last week was a great milestone - not just for the individuals involved, but as part of our ongoing commitment to developing leaders across our business. Thanks to Google for creating and delivering a programme that drives real impact.
Awaze is made up of many football-loving nations, and we came together today for Football Shirt Friday ⚽👕 All across Europe, we swapped our usual office wear for our favourite football shirts, to support and raise funds for Børnecancerfonden Different clubs, different countries - one shared cause. 💚
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the incredible women of Awaze 💛 Across our offices and teams, these are the faces behind the ideas, leadership, care and innovation that drive us forward every single day. This week is about recognising the talent, resilience and ambition of women across our business - and reaffirming our commitment to building an inclusive, empowering community where everyone can thrive. We’re proud to work alongside so many inspiring women across Awaze. While we know this spotlight doesn’t capture everyone, we celebrate each and every one of you - and we’ll continue the celebration with events throughout the week! ✨
🚀 We’ve launched a cottage booking app in ChatGPT A huge milestone for our team and business: we’ve successfully launched a new app within OpenAI’s ChatGPT, making it easier for travellers to discover and book cottages in the UK. Starting with cottages.com, the app connects directly to our live inventory of self-catered homes. Travellers can simply describe their ideal break in natural, conversational language and receive tailored results with real-time availability and pricing. This launch reflects the hard work and collaboration across our tech, product and commercial teams – and showcases how we’re turning investment in AI into real, customer-facing innovation. It’s exciting to see our digital capabilities evolve in line with how people increasingly want to plan their holidays: smarter, faster and more intuitive. 👉Try out the app through ChatGPT here: https://lnkd.in/eaViykUy
Last week, our Supply Leaders from across the EU and UK swapped Teams calls for high-fives at our annual Supply Conference - and what a few days it was. When you bring together passionate people from different markets, brands and backgrounds, great things happen. Ideas move faster. Ambitions get bigger. And collaboration gets real. We aligned on our priorities for the year ahead, shared wins, challenged each other, and celebrated a big milestone: the re-launch of James Villas. A proud moment and an exciting new chapter for the brand. A huge thank you to Tom Hartley, our guest speaker for bringing the entrepreneurial spark. His session on sales success and bold thinking was packed with great insights. As an international business spanning 20+ countries and multiple product brands, moments like this remind us why we love what we do. Different markets, shared direction. Big ambitions, one team🚀
We’re delighted to have relaunched James Villas to meet the surging demand from UK holidaymakers for a specialist, trusted villa brand. This relaunch reinforces Awaze’s commitment to offering an unrivalled choice in self-catered accommodation and delivering exceptional experiences for both our guests and owners and guests. James Villa's 40+ year legacy as a much-loved brand strengthens Awaze’s position in key European markets and enhances the scale and breadth of our portfolio – enabling us to offer more tailored and bespoke holidays and drive continued growth. The relaunch of James Villas comes at a moment of real momentum for Awaze, following record performance over the Black Friday period. With a 14% year-on-year increase in bookings across our portfolio, it’s clear that holidays remain a key priority for consumers. 📈✈️ A huge thank you to the team for their hard work and commitment to delivering standout results and supporting our long-term growth. 🙌👏 https://lnkd.in/eHy3tByq
We are proud to share a look back at our Hoseasons Owners Conference 2025 - a great opportunity to connect, learn, and celebrate our incredible owners. A huge thank you to our amazing team, whose hard work and months of planning brought this event to life. It’s inspiring to see what we can deliver together, and we're so excited for what’s ahead as we continue supporting our owners and creating outstanding guest experiences. 👏✨
Earlier this year, we were proud to share that Awaze had been shortlisted in three categories at the Women in Tech Employer Awards 2025: • Best Employer Network • Best Initiative of the Year • Outstanding Woman in Tech Last week, several members of our amazing Awaze Women in Tech community attended the awards event to celebrate the achievements of organisations driving positive change in the tech industry. While we didn’t take home an award this time, being recognised among the very best is a fantastic achievement in itself — and a true testament to the passion, dedication, and hard work of our teams, whose efforts continue to advance diversity, inclusion, and empowerment both within Awaze and beyond. 👏 💚 A special congratulations goes to Lucy Auckland, Product Director - Awaze Platform & Services, whose leadership and commitment earned her an individual nomination for Outstanding Woman in Tech. Lucy’s impact has helped shape our initiatives and inspired many across the organisation. Over the past two years, growing our Women in Tech network has been one of our strategic priorities. Through school visits, public speaking, charity partnerships, internships, and lunch & learns, our teams have worked together to inspire and empower the next generation of women in technology. The awards evening was a wonderful celebration of progress, collaboration, and community - and a reminder of how far we’ve come and why we remain committed to driving meaningful change.
