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Hays to open six stores in Leeds and Bradford


Lucy Huxley lucy.huxley@travelweekly.co.uk


Hays Travel is to expand beyond the northeast into the Leeds and Bradford area as part of “the most unprecedented period of growth” in its history.


The UK’s largest independent agency chain, which announced last month that it was rebranding its Bath Travel shops to Hays Travel, is set to open six Hays outlets in Leeds and Bradford by Christmas, creating 50 jobs. Managing director John Hays said: “We’ve got shops in North Yorkshire, but our focus now is on the Leeds/Bradford conurbation.” He said two of the new branches


had already been shop-fitted and that an area manager had been appointed to look after them all, suggesting that Hays plans to open more in the area after the first six. The announcement comes


just weeks after Hays Travel was


included in a Sunday Times list of fastest-growing companies. “It’s a nice accolade to be


recognised for growing,” said Hays. “I am a big believer that the time


to act is when things are going well; when you have momentum. “We did sales of £775 million


last year and are in a period of the most unprecedented growth in Hays’ history. It’s very exciting.” In the last six weeks, Hays has opened shops in Blyth, Morpeth and Cramlington in Northumberland and in Barnard Castle in County Durham. It has also opened shops in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, and Exmouth, Devon, and is reopening a shop in Chard, Somerset. By the end of the year, Hays


Travel expects to have a chain of 135 shops, including 61 rebranded Bath Travel stores, plus more than 200 homeworkers. In addition, the Hays Independence Group comprises more than 200 shops operated by 107 members.


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Older customers can find it hard to relate to younger agents


‘Agencies should have older staff’


Lucy Huxley lucy.huxley@travelweekly.co.uk


Travel agencies have been urged to employ more older staff so mature customers have someone to relate to when buying a holiday.


Speaking about the rise of the


‘silver traveller’ market, Jennie Carr of advice website Silver Travel Advisor, said older customers could find it hard to relate to younger agents. She said: “There’s an argument


to say there should be a wealth of older people working in travel agencies and also being depicted on travel agents’ websites so that older customers feel comfortable and have someone to relate to when buying a holiday. “If agents can start relating to


customers straight away, they are halfway there to making the sale.” Carr’s call coincided with the


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John Hays


launch of a luxury travel portal aimed at the over-50s which was unveiled to the trade this week. High50 Travel said consumers aged 50 to 65 account for 80% of the UK’s spend on luxury travel. Carr pointed out that DIY firm


B&Q had employed older staff in its stores to great success. “It actually works,” she said. “Older people have a wealth of knowledge that customers really value and feel reassured by. “Agents should do the same and get people out of retirement.” Gordon McCreadie, sales


director at Travel 2 and Gold Medal, said his company employed several staff in their 70s because of their experience and ability to give good advice. The clarion call to the trade came after Silver Travel Service founder Debbie Marshall told delegates at Abta’s Travel Convention last month to spice up their campaigns targeting older markets. “The over-55s are the fastest-


growing age group in the UK,” she said. “The average age of people working in marketing and PR is 35. It’s almost impossibly young for people to be putting out campaigns targeted at older people. Older people currently find advertising meant for mature


people to be beige and boring.” › Do you employ older travel agents? Email editorial@ travelweekly.co.uk


5 November 2015 travelweekly.co.uk 5


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