Hays Travel is to rebrand all 60 of the Bath Travel shops it acquired two years ago with the Hays brand.
The move means the end of the Bath Travel brand, which has been present in southern England for 91 years since the company was formed in Bournemouth in 1924.
Bath Travel managers were gathered at their Bournemouth head office by managing director John Hays at 10.30am on Thursday to be told the news.
Remaining staff were asked to view an intranet video made by Hays to explain the decision.
Hays said all Bath Travel shop fascias would be replaced with Hays Travel by Christmas and said the Bath name on the company’s currently dual-branded website would be dropped from November 1.
“This is the thing that will truly make us a national brand. There are still gaps across the country but does this make us feel more national? Absolutely,” said Hays.
He added: “Bath Travel has been a fantastic brand and I’m really pleased about the performance of the business which is profitable in its own right.
“This is not a decision that has been taken lightly, but it was just sensible as we went along that things moved closer and closer and closer.”
Hays bought Bath Travel in October 2013 for an undisclosed amount and the initial plan was to keep the Bath brand going.
Speaking at the time of the buyout, he said: “The values of Bath Travel are of independent and knowledgeable, personal service.”
Hays acknowledged the decision to rebrand the company was “risky” due to staff and client sentiment and loyalty towards the Bath brand.
But said he was confident he would not lose customers and anticipated that the move would also help tap into a new customer base. He said he also hoped staff would welcome and embrace the change because they would feel a greater sense of belonging.
Hays revealed a small circle of shop managers had been told of the plans and that their reaction had been “extremely positive, enthusiastic and excited”.
“We do a staff engagement survey every year and the last one in July gave a score from Bath staff of 4.18 (out of five), which is exceptional and within .01 of the Hays score. So staff are very happy being part of the Hays group,” he said.
Commenting on Bath clients, Hays said he was confident existing customers would not be unduly concerned as they are “already familiar with the Hays Travel and tour operating brand”.
A one-page letter from Hays including his personal email address will be sent on Friday to every client who has booked with Bath to explain the move.
“In it, I explain how nothing is going to change except a couple of letters in the name,” Hays said. “There will be the same service, the same staff and the same premises. I say that Hays Travel, like Bath, is a family-run business, and we manage the business the way Bath did.
“I also say that since acquiring Bath Travel, we have created 106 extra selling positions, taking the number of staff employed from 297 to 401.
“I don’t think we will lose customers, we are making every effort we can not to lose them.”
Hays said that a third of all non-cruise sales by Bath Travel over the last two years had been for Hays Travel’s own holidays through its short-haul tour operating arm or its long-haul Hays Faraway programme.
“So existing clients should be familiar with the Hays Travel and tour operating brand,” he said.
The total number of Hays Travel outlets, including the Bath shops, is now just over 130 and the company employs 1,200 staff.