Miles Willis, MBA
CEO of IslandStays
Incentive Travel Programs
I have an MBA and over 20 years’ senior management experience in the travel industry.
December 2010 to Present
Founder & Owner of IslandStays, CruiseWorld, SafariDeals & TravelEase
TravelEase owns several online travel brands. These include IslandStays, CruiseWorld and SafariDeals. Our focus is on luxury travel to the Indian Ocean Islands, such as Mauritius, Zanzibar, Reunion, the Maldives and the Seychelles; luxury ocean cruising; and luxury safaris to Africa. We market via several websites, Google Ads & MailChimp. We now have a database of over 15000 customers.
I have personally designed and setup nine travel related websites and have gathered a lot of hands-on knowledge and experience in website design, digital marketing, network marketing, social networks, online advertising, Google Ads, MailChimp and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Member of the Board of Cape Town Tourism
Offered support and guidance to the CEO of Cape Town Tourism. Assisted with professional advice on tourism, destination marketing, online marketing, tourism strategy, financial management and more.
Managing Director of Sure Tours (Pty) Ltd.
I was responsible for the growth, development and profitability of Sure Tours. I managed 25 staff who sold outbound travel products from all over the world to travel agents. My team consisted of Product Managers, Heads of Department leading Reservation Teams, Travel Consultants, Administrators, Accounts staff and Data Capturers.
General Manager of Thompsons Tours Cape Town
My responsibilities included to plan, direct and co-ordinate the operations of the Cape Town business unit. During the six years I managed Thompsons Tours Cape Town, we grew from a small tour operator consisting of 36 staff and sales of R3,5m p.m. and R42 mil p.a. to being part of the largest tour operator in South Africa with over 100 staff in Cape Town and sales of R20mil in the month of March 2007 and R186 mil for the year of 2007. For five years in a row, while I was there, Thompsons Tours won the ASATA Award for the Best International and Best African Tour Operator as voted by the travel industry.
Account Director at Achievement Awards Group (Pty) Ltd – a Performance Improvement Company which is 10% owned by Maritz Inc. USA.
I was responsible for New Business Development and the design and implementation of Performance Improvement Programs for large corporate clients. Programmes included Top End Incentive Travel where I also was the Tour Leader on several occasions.
Clients included: BMW, BMW Financial Services, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Daewoo Motors, IBM, Liberty Life, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Tiger Milling, Unifoods, M-Web, National Brands Cosmetics, Servier Laboratories and Bandag Tyres. Each program ranged from R500 000 to R3 500 000 p.a.
Incentive & Tour Leader Experience
2006: Tour leader for a group of travel agents to the Seychelles.
Tour leader for a group of top achievers to Wales to watch the Springboks play Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
2003: Tour leader on Russian Waterway Cruise between Moscow & St Petersburg
2002: Tour leader on Mauritius press trip.
2000: Tour Director to Bali with 16 Dealer Principals for Toyota SA.
1999: Tour Director to New York & Disney World with 32 Dealer Principals for Ford (SA)
1997: Tour Leader to Cancun with 22 senior brokers for BMW Financial Services.
1985: Tour Leader to Rio de Janeiro with 8 Top Performers for Suntek Solar Systems
Contact Details:
Cell: 082 871 5980
Email: miles@islandstays.co.za
Website: www.islandstays.co.za
Travel Experience
2021: Six month’s working in the UK. Based in Gravesend Kent. Travelled around to Birmingham, Yorkshire & Dorset
2019: Educational trip to Mauritius with Beachcomber Tours
Personal trip to England, UK- Cornwall, Devon & Dorset
Personal Trip to USA – California, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas & Rhode Island
2016: Three months in Scotland and travelled to England though Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Cotswolds & Dorset.
2011: Attended Beachcomber Educational Tour to Sainte Anne’s in the Seychelles.
2008: Attended ITB in Berlin and Pow Wow in Las Vegas.
2007: Attended World Travel Market (WTM) in London &
Rhythms of the South Travel Fair in New Orleans.
2006: Tour leader for a group of travel agents to the Seychelles.
Tour leader for a group of top achievers to Wales to watch the Springboks play Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Educational cruise in the Caribbean with travel agents.
Golf trip to Sun City.
2005: Golf trip with Rennies to Vic Falls.
Educational Trip to Kuala Lumpur,
Educational Trip to Melbourne & Sydney.
Personal trip to Mauritius.
2004: Educational Trip to Namibia.
Educational Trip on Rovos Rail to George.
Educational Trip trip to Seychelles
Educational Trip to Maldives.
Educational Trip to Vic Falls and Chobe.
2003: Educational Trip to Buenos Aires.
Tour leader on Russian Waterway Cruise between Moscow & St Petersburg.
Personal trip to London, Edinburgh & Montreal.
Personal trip to Mauritius.
2002: Cruise on QE2, Cape Town to Mauritius and return.
Tour leader on Mauritius press trip.
2001: Personal trip to Botswana with Wilderness Safaris.
Megafam to Kuala Lumpur.
Educational trip to Kuala Lumpur and Kuching & Kota Kinabalu in Borneo.
2000: Tour Director to Bali with 16 Dealer Principals for Toyota SA.
1999: Tour Director to New York & Disney World with 32 Dealer Principals for Ford (SA)
1998: Personal trip to Boston, New York & London.
1998: Personal trip to Mauritius.
1997: Tour Leader to Cancun with 22 senior brokers for BMW Financial Services.
1985: Tour Leader to Rio de Janeiro with 8 Top Performers for Suntek Solar Systems.
1984: Spent a year travelling around the world on my own. Sailed from Cape Town to Fremantle, Australia. Spent three months travelling in Australia. Visited Perth, Cairns, Great Barrier reef, Whitsunday Islands, Brisbane and Sydney. Flew to New Zealand and travelled for two weeks. Visited Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Milford Sound. Then flew to Fiji where I stayed for a week. Then flew to Hawaii where I stayed in Honolulu for a month. Then onto the mainland USA where I stayed for six months in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ski in Lake Tahoe. I bought a Chevy V8 and drove across America stopping at Las Vegas, El Paso, New Orleans, Washington, New York and Buffalo. I then flew to London where I stayed for a few weeks before coming home.
1976: Euro Rail through Europe: Visited London, Amsterdam, Munich, Rome, Venice, Florence, Barcelona, Paris, Nice, Cote d'Azur, Geneva, Innsbruck & Lucerne. Ski in Austria at Bergitz.
Why book with IslandStays?
IslandStays is a specialized island travel service focusing on quality product supplied by reliable tour operators.
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Our mission is to deliver personalised service, excellent value for money and an outstanding holiday experience.
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We have the lowest prices in the market as our product is supplied directly by our tour operators with no mark-up added.
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Our airfares are the cheapest as we use discounted IT fares offered only by tour operators.
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We offer to try to beat any other quote you have – so please send us your other quote before booking elsewhere.
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You can make and finalise all your holiday arrangements online without having to leave your PC.
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We do all the work for you! We present you with an array of options for you to choose from.
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You simply choose the best quote for your needs and budget.
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Booking requests are processed simply & safely via email using our tour operator's booking form.
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Payments are made directly to our tour operator so that you know your money is safe with well-established travel brands.
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Our tour operators have a safe & secure process to receive your payments using EFT or credit cards on their secure website.
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Original documents and air tickets are issued by our tour operators & couriered right to your front door.
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If time is tight e-Docs are issued by our tour operator & emailed to you so you know you have all the right documentation.
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We take care of all the hassles for you, providing you with a trustworthy service!