John Hays opens the first branch of Hays Travel at the back of his mum’s children’s wear shop in Seaham, Co Durham
About Hays Travel
As the UKs largest independent travel agent Hays Travel, specialises in providing good value, quality holidays alongside excellent customer service.
From its inception, the business expanded steadily with shops cropping up across the north-east. In 1990, the first Hays Travel call centre opened, and in 1995 the Hays Travel Independence Group was formed – a consortium of independent travel retailers retaining their own independence and branding, but benefitting from Hays Travel’s buying power, technology, and back office functions.
In 1997, the company diversified into homeworking, and in 2013 Hays completed the acquisition of Bath Travel, the south of England’s largest independent travel agency network.
In 2013, retail coverage expanded hugely with the acquisition of southern England’s largest independent travel agency, Bath Travel. Founded in 1924 and based in Bournemouth; Bath Travel had over 60 branches and 330 employees who joined the Hays Travel family. The acquisition represented a substantial growth in the company’s retail network, with Hays Travel branches now covering Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Sussex.
A year later, in 2014; Hays took on its first franchise in the north-west of England, a 14-branch travel agency formerly known as Just Go. With quick expansion also in this region, Hays Travel now has almost 30 shops in this part of the country, covering Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales.
In 2014, Just Go, an independent agent based in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales, joined the group and started to operate as a Hays franchise. The group of shops was rebranded as Hays Travel and the network expanded significantly - they now have 44 branches, an annual turnover of £63 million, and employ 197 people.
2019 saw Hays Travel take a strong lead in the industry and acquired the Thomas Cook retail estate; providing re-employment opportunities to former staff who were made redundant following the collapse of the travel giant.
Another year later in 2020; Hays Travel took over all 20 Tailor Made Travel shops as well as retaining around 100 employees.
Today, Hays Travel has huge buying power and invests heavily in state-of-the-art technology. The company has an award-winning in-house training programme, won Best High Street Large Agency at the Agent Achievement Awards, and is recognised in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, as well as the Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies to Work For’ list.
Fully ABTA, ATOL and IATA bonded, it offers its customers complete financial security, and its independent status means staff are able to offer impartial advice and an extensive range of travel opportunities. The company works with hundreds of suppliers to ensure this.
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