Hays Travel managing director John Hays tells Lucy Huxley the UK’s largest independent travel agency is enjoying an unprecedented period of expansion on the high street
Hays Travel’s decision to rebrand its Bath Travel stores comes amid “the most unprecedented period of growth in Hays’ history”, its founder told Travel Weekly.
John Hays said the UK’s largest independent agency chain was looking to expand beyond its northeast heartland while times were good.
Store openings planned for major Yorkshire cities of Leeds and Bradford mark Hays Travel’s entry into a new region in which an area manager has been appointed.
An initial six stores will open in this region before Christmas, creating 50 jobs, but more are expected as Hays stretches its brand south and west.
Hays said: “We’ve got shops in North Yorkshire, but the next big conurbations after Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough, where we are really strong, are Leeds and Bradford, so that’s our next focus.”
In the last six weeks alone, Hays has opened new shops in Blyth, Morpeth and Cramlington in Northumberland and Barnard Castle in Teeside.
It has also opened shops in Bognor Regis and in Exmouth, and is re-opening a shop previously closed in the town of Chard in Somerset.
This week’s announcement that Hays will move away the Bath Travel brand, ending 91 years of travel agency heritage, is an indication of the scale of the vision for Hays Travel.
Hays said: “I’ve never hidden the fact from the day we acquired Bath that it was owned by Hays.
“From a client point of view we made it quite obvious. We co-branded the Hays website with Bath, so if you typed in the Bath URL, you’d end up on a dual-branded site.
“A year ago we changed all the red block Bath Travel fascias to the Hays blue and gold with the Hays swoosh. We also gave Bath staff Hays uniforms and gave them our Hays jingle, just changing the name to Bath.
“So really, for more than a year, we’ve been gradually moving towards the Hays brand, but it wasn’t a hard and fast decision to drop the brand from the outset.
“It will be interesting to see how they react. For some people, there is bound to be some sadness – that’s inevitable – but I am hoping and anticipating that the majority will feel that they are now truly part of the family and there is nothing left of any ‘them and us’ feeling.”
Hays added that he anticipated the Bath Travel rebrand would result in the company attracting more new customers.
“Of the customers we researched who hadn’t booked with us, the feedback was that the Bath Travel brand had got a bit tired before our acquisition, so really the upside of all this is that we can attract some new, younger customers by using our younger, more dynamic brand to capture those who haven’t booked with us yet.”
Hays said marketing a single brand would also be a “hell of a lot easier and more cost-efficient”, and he promised “significant” investment in marketing the Hays Travel brand in the south following the announcement.
He added that extra marketing funding would also benefit Hays Travel homeworkers living in the south.
“They will be able to piggy-back off the considerable marketing spend we’re going to be pumping into the south,” he said. “It will be so much more effective and efficient all round.”
Asked about the timing of his move to a single brand, coming after Monarch’s announcement that it was to drop Cosmos Holidays and Tui Group’s decision to drop Thomson Holidays and other regional brands, Hays said: “We are tiny compared to a company like Tui, but a masterbrand strategy does mean everything can be focused in one place.
“There are no ifs and buts about who your client is travelling with as everyone is standing behind the one brand.”
He added that a single brand allowed for more brand and product extension.
Commenting on a session at Abta’s Travel Convention this week featuring Tui UK and Ireland boss Nick Longman and Monarch chief executive Andrew Swaffield, Hays said: “I had a wry smile when they were asked about moving to a masterbrand strategy and listening to their rationale. It makes sense.”
Hays’s ambitious expansion plans are not going unnoticed. Hays Travel was listed in the recent Sunday Times’ list of fastest-growing companies.
Hays said: “It’s a nice accolade to be recognised for growing. I am a big believer in that the time to do things is when things are going well; when you have momentum.
“When things are going in the right direction, that’s when you should really capitalise and ramp up on things. We did sales of £775million last year and are in a period of the most unprecedented growth in Hays’ history. It’s a very exciting time.”