Wanted: Regional Chains Director

WebBeds is the fastest growing and most significant accommodation supplier to the travel industry. We are a global company offering ground services (hotels, transfers, tours, activities) to travel professionals. Our products help our partners and customers to create amazing travel experiences.

Our Products range from a Retail Online platform, Integration Connectivity hub and distribution APIs to name but a few and our systems are 100% cloud hosted processing up to 5.0bn search requests daily. We deliver amazing outcomes using leading edge technology through innovative and creative thinking.

As a Regional Chains Director, you will lead, develop, and execute the regional chain strategy to drive sustainable growth, strengthen strategic partnerships, and increase WebBeds’ market share across your assigned regions. In this role, you will own senior-level relationships with key regional hotel chain partners and provide strategic direction to the Regional Chains team to maximize commercial performance, portfolio expansion, and long-term value creation.

You will work cross-functionally with Global Chains, Contracting, Partner Success, Supplier Optimization, Connectivity, Sales, and Marketing teams to ensure seamless alignment between regional execution and global chain objectives. This position requires a strong commercial leader with deep industry expertise, strategic vision, and the ability to translate high-level strategy into measurable results.

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Regional chain strategy definition: Define and own the regional chain strategy, aligned with global chains objectives, to drive incremental revenue growth and market share.
• Team leadership and management: Lead and manage the Regional Chains team (>4FTE), providing direction, coaching, and performance management to ensure delivery of agreed KPIs.
• Senior-level relationship ownership: Own senior-level relationships with priority regional and global hotel chains, acting as executive sponsor and escalation point.
• Chain opportunity identification: Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new chain opportunities within the region in collaboration with Global Chains and Regional Leadership.
• Contract negotiation and compliance: Ensure optimal commercial outcomes by overseeing chain contract negotiations, renewals, and compliance with agreed timelines and standards.
• Portfolio performance driving: Drive regional chain portfolio performance through pricing, availability, inventory, and product optimization in partnership with Partner Success, Supplier Optimization, and Contracting teams.
• Quarterly business reviews: Chair and participate in high-level quarterly business reviews with key chain partners to review performance, align strategy, and identify growth opportunities.
• Cross-functional contracting collaboration: Collaborate with regional and destination contracting teams to ensure alignment on chain strategies, targets, and hotel-level execution.
• Supplier connectivity partnership: Partner with supplier connectivity and loading teams to define preferred connectivity strategies and ensure scalable, high-quality chain onboarding.
• Performance trend monitoring: Monitor regional chain performance trends, risks, and opportunities, using data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions.
• Complex issue escalation: Act as escalation point for complex commercial, service, or operational issues impacting regional chain partners.
• Commercial initiative negotiation: Drive the negotiation and execution of regional exclusives, value adds, overrides, and joint marketing initiatives across WebBeds platforms.
• Industry event representation: Represent WebBeds at key industry events, tradeshows, and executive-level partner meetings to strengthen market presence and relationships.
• Internal alignment and communication: Ensure effective internal communication and alignment between Global Chains, Sales, Marketing, and regional teams to maximize promotion of chain content.
• Health and Safety compliance: Support Health and Safety compliance and ensure required reporting is completed and up to date.
• Corporate communication standards: Communicate internally and externally in a professional manner in line with corporate guidelines and leadership expectations.

What are we looking for?

• Extensive contracting and commercial experience within the hotel and/or travel industry.
• Proven ability to build, manage, and grow senior-level strategic partnerships with hotel chains.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification.
• Fluent in English (additional regional languages highly beneficial).
• Willingness to travel frequently within the region and internationally as required.
• Strong strategic leadership and people management skills, with experience leading multi-market or regional teams.
• Excellent commercial acumen with a strong understanding of regional and global distribution models.
• Highly developed negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
• Data-driven decision-maker with strong analytical capabilities and financial awareness.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, able to engage effectively at executive level.
• Proactive, resilient, and adaptable, with the ability to manage complexity and competing priorities.
• Collaborative leadership style with a strong focus on cross-functional teamwork and accountability.
• Minimum 8–10 years’ experience in hotel contracting, chain management, or strategic commercial roles within OTAs, bedbanks, or tour operators.
• Strong understanding of dynamic and static contracting models across multiple regions.
• Fluency in one or more additional European languages.
• Previous experience in a regional or global leadership role managing chain portfolios.
• Demonstrated success in scaling chain partnerships and driving measurable regional growth.
• Experience working in complex, matrix-driven international organizations.

We are super proud of our dedicated team of friendly, energetic & passionate professionals. Our people are key to the success of our business & everybody at WebBeds has their own unique role to play as we continue to drive the company forward.

Over 50 different languages are spoken by our workforce, but whether working from offices in Dubai or London or out in the field in Johannesburg or Buenos Aires, we all share the common goal to take pride in what we do & to deliver our partners with unbeatable service & support.