Bert Accomando, owner and former president of Sceptre Tours, has handed over the reigns to his son, Chris Accomando, who was promoted to president earlier this month.  Chris, who has been with the company for over seven years, was previously the vice president of Sceptre Tours, the largest tour operator to Ireland from the U.S.The younger Accomando, who brings 15 years of hospitality and travel management expertise to the table, is charged with leading the company to continually expand its role as the foremost provider of vacation packages to Ireland, distributed exclusively through travel agents.  As president of Sceptre Tours, Chris will also direct the entire Sceptre team in the areas of sales and marketing, operations and more.  In addition, the new president will be responsible for creating a strategic vision for current and future projects, overseeing all facets of IT, while maintaining and growing Sceptre’s relationships with the travel agent community as well as industry partner relations, with Tourism Ireland, hoteliers and airlines alike.

In recent years Chris has made major contributions to the company, including the launch of the first-ever, Ireland-only real-time booking engine complete with complimentary private label opportunities for agents.  The real-time availability and pricing enabled agents to have complete and immediate access to the tour operator’s extensive product line.  Another major change that took place under Chris’ direction was the net pricing model, offering agents net prices and the capability to determine their own profit levels.

The junior Accomando’s greatest contribution to the company, and arguably the agent community as a whole, was his lead in the move to go agent-only.  Under Chris’ leadership the tour operator bucked the trend to sell direct to consumers by committing to sell only to travel agents.  In doing so, Sceptre Tours turned over 35% of its business that was formerly booked via consumers to the travel agent community and received industry-wide support backing this aggressive agent-friendly move.  His close ties with the agent community are the accomplishments that Chris is most proud of.

Accomando began his career with Sceptre Ireland in 1997 as an outside sales representative.  His collective skills in marketing, sales, management, communication and networking were apparent and he was promoted in 2001 to VP with significantly increased responsibilities.

“Promotions are always exciting news,” Bert Accomando said.  “And when you’re promoting your son it takes on a whole different level of excitement.  Chris has risen to where he is today due to his hard work and unwavering commitment to the agent community.”

Accomando holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hospitality Management from the New York Institute of Technology.  He resides in Long Island, NY with his wife Kerry and son Christopher.
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