Sterling Holidays - National Director - B2B Distribution & Trade

Position: National Director - B2B Distribution & Trade
Reports To: SVP & Head - Hotel Sales
Department: Sales
Purpose of Role
To drive revenue growth and market expansion through Sterling's indirect distribution ecosystem by leading offline B2B trade partnerships and online DMC / B2B platform channels. The role is accountable for production, profitability, supply governance, and platform visibility across agencies, wholesalers, consolidators, and non-OTA B2B distribution networks, operating independently of OTA and Corporate Sales functions.
Role Scope:
- Offline B2B travel agencies and trade partners
- Wholesalers and consolidators
- Non-OTA B2B booking platforms
- Online DMC distribution platforms
- Travel-tech B2B connectivity partners
Key Responsibilities:
1. Channel Strategy & Commercial Ownership
- Define and execute Sterling's national B2B distribution strategy across offline trade and DMC platforms.
- Own channel revenue, contribution, and cost of acquisition across partners.
- Establish the role each partner type plays in the overall distribution mix.
- Drive profitable demand generation while protecting rate positioning and brand integrity.
2. Contracting & Commercial Decision Rights
- Own commercial contracting frameworks across B2B partners.
- Negotiate commissions, overrides, marketing investments, and incentive structures.
- Define margin floors and contribution benchmarks.
- Evaluate partner ROI and recalibrate commercials based on productivity and scale.
3. Partner Ecosystem Development
- Lead senior relationships with key agencies, wholesalers, consolidators, and DMC platforms.
- Expand Sterling's reach by onboarding new partners across source markets and customer segments.
- Drive structured Joint Business Plans with top partners including production and growth commitments.
- Conduct periodic performance and growth reviews.
4. DMC Platform Distribution & Supply Governance
- Drive production through online B2B and DMC distribution platforms.
- Govern supply sourcing models including direct contracting and third-party inventory usage.
- Ensure balanced supply deployment aligned to profitability and rate control objectives.
- Optimize destination and product presence across platform storefronts.

5. Technology & Connectivity Enablement
- Work closely with B2B Distribution, Revenue & Inventory team for SterlingONE activation
- Oversee API integrations, inventory flows, and booking connectivity across DMC partners.
- Manage static vs dynamic rate models, allotments, and mapping accuracy.
- Ensure content, imagery, and product information integrity across partner systems.
6. Rate Integrity & Distribution Governance
- Safeguard pricing discipline across all B2B channels.
- Monitor parity, discounting & blocking misuse, and rate leakage.
- Enforce promotional and discount approval frameworks.
- Drive corrective action and commercial renegotiation where required.
7. Demand Generation & Visibility
- Co-create campaigns with trade and DMC partners to drive seasonal and need-period demand.
- Improve property visibility through platform placements, campaigns, and search ranking optimization.
- Leverage partner marketing channels for distribution scale.
8. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Align with Revenue Management on pricing, promotions, and inventory deployment.
- Work with Marketing on trade campaigns and product storytelling.
- Coordinate with Technology teams on integrations and system performance.
- Partner with hotel operations to prepare for trade-driven demand.
9. Team Leadership
- Lead a national team managing offline trade coverage and online DMC platform partnerships.
- Define partner coverage models and engagement cadence.
- Drive performance reviews, pipeline tracking, and partner development plans.
- Build capability in negotiation, analytics, and distribution management.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue & Profitability
- Total B2B revenue production across offline and DMC channels vs targets.
- Net channel contribution after commissions, incentives, and marketing investments.
Supply & Sourcing Governance
- Direct vs third-party supply mix across DMC platforms.
- Third-party inventory contribution capped at - 20% of total DMC revenue.
Partner & Booker Productivity

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- Active producing partners and unique online bookers.
- Revenue per partner / per booker.
- Active vs dormant partner ratios.
Portfolio Distribution Coverage
- 100% of Sterling properties live across B2B and DMC platforms.
Destination & Market Share
- Revenue mix by destination and feeder markets.
- Growth in underpenetrated source regions.

Channel Risk Balance
- Production spread across partner tiers.
- Concentration risk monitoring.
Rate Integrity Compliance
- Parity violations, leakage incidents, and discount governance adherence.
Platform Visibility & Ranking
- Property search positioning and storefront visibility across DMC platforms.
Revenue Usage Mix Efficiency
- Minimum 85% coverage of property portfolio by DMC/online B2B, contributing to the overall revenue
Candidate Profile
- 10-15 years in hospitality distribution, travel trade, DMC, OTA market management, or B2B travel-tech.
- Experience managing multi-region or national partner ecosystems.
- Deep understanding of travel agency, wholesaler, and consolidator networks.
- Strong exposure to DMC platforms, bedbanks, and B2B APIs.
- Knowledge of allotments, rate structures, and connectivity models.
- Strong P&L and contribution management capability.
- Advanced partner negotiation and contracting experience.
- Ability to balance scale with profitability.
- Comfort working with channel managers, CRS systems, connectivity platforms, and BI dashboards.
- Data-driven decision making across production and yield metrics.
- Commercially aggressive yet governance focused.
- Collaborative across Revenue, Marketing, Tech, and Operations.
- Scales partner ecosystems without losing control of pricing or brand.