Hays Travel aims to open more Miles Morgan Travel branches next year, following the announcement of the brand’s 20th branch in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
The new Miles Morgan Travel branch will open early next year, bringing the brand’s total to 20 across the southwest of England and south Wales, following the takeover by Hays Travel in May.
Hays Travel owner Dame Irene Hays told a Travel Weekly webcast: “We are delighted that we’ve got one place over the line for now, and hopefully, some to follow, but we’ll see how it goes. We are fairly pragmatic about that.”
Asked if more openings are likely in 2025, she commented: “Yes. The first conversation I had with Mandy [Shillito, MMT managing director] was about ambition, about growth where it was appropriate, very similar to the Hays Travel style.
“We would never say we’re going to open another five, 10, 15 or 20 branches. But Mandy has got a wish list, and some of those may be possible next year, providing that the negotiation with the landlords is right, providing that Mandy can find the right property in the right towns.
“All of those things are possible, but it is incredibly difficult for us to have any certainty. The one thing that is certain is the level of ambition and growth.”
Shillito agreed that they are “exploring” new locations following Trowbridge, which has “always been on the map for us”.
“It’s a town that we’ve always had in mind previously, before the acquisition; it is absolutely perfect for our customer demographic,” said Shillito.
“It will strengthen our presence in Wiltshire. The teams are really excited.
“[We are] very happy and delighted that Hays have decided to open more Miles Morgan Travel branches.”
Hays continued: “We couldn’t be happier with the Miles Morgan acquisition and the transition – we’re more than happy with the way that the brand has continued to succeed.
“Mandy was very clear about the scale of her ambition for the future.”
The company is now recruiting for a branch manager, three full-time equivalent travel consultants, and a foreign exchange expert for the new branch.
Shillito said: “We’ve actually had some internal applicants already and some external, so it’s going to be a bit of a frenzy of applicants. It is a popular one. We always knew it would be.”
The new starters will also have inductions and training from Miles Morgan Travel and Hays Travel.
Hays said the values of both companies have always been “very similar” as Miles Morgan Travel has been part of the Hays Travel family “for a long time, as a member of the Independence Group”.
Now that Miles Morgan staff are part of Hays, they can progress in their careers through Hays’ five divisions across 25 regions.
“We have lots of senior people and an opportunity to progress. People at the induction will be told about the opportunities that they have if they work hard,” said Hays.
“It is a merger of the best of both.”
Shillito and Hays agreed that recruitment of agents has now become easier, and both brands train new-to-travel applicants rather than rely just on experienced candidates – so staffing new branches should not be an issue.
“We don’t rely now on trained people. We do take on what we call rising stars. And, like Hays do, we will transform people into travel specialists,” said Shillito.
“We have got some who were bakers before, or were head teachers, and are now tracking very good figures.
“You wouldn’t walk into one of our shops and think, ‘Oh, they’ve only just been in travel for a year’.
“We can fast-track people. It is more about leases and getting the right stores.”
Hays added: “There is also the opportunity for the expansion of the apprenticeship scheme.
“We are very keen on this. We have a passion for young people being given the opportunity. We believe that their skills, particularly around social and digital, are sometimes better than some of our experienced travel consultants.
“There are some areas [in the country] where it’s easier to recruit than others; I would say it’s virtually back to where it was pre-2019.”