Mark Cornock
Small, medium and large: agency owners talk growth
Hays delegates heard from the owners of three growing businesses of different sizes who showed the variation of Hays Travel IG members. Nicola Park, of Seaside
Travel in County Durham, which is soon to open a third shop in Wingate, entertained with a humorous talk on how “having a gob” and employing characters helps promote small, local businesses. Miles Morgan, managing
Hays relaunches operating arm in wake of new PTRs
Hays Travel has relaunched its tour operating division and hopes to grow it through increased sales via Independence Group members and third-party agents.
Hays Tour Operating Ltd
(HTOL) accounts for about 30% of long-haul and cruise sales at Hays Travel’s own retail branches, but sales through most IG members are not at that level. Managing director John Hays said using HTOL to put together packages was safer for members following the introduction of the new package travel regulations in July, which mean agents are now liable as ‘organisers’ if something goes wrong with a dynamically packaged holiday they’ve created. Hays Travel’s Atol licenses it to
carry 122,000 passengers a year. Hays said: “We want it to be
bigger. We were conscious we had this pretty successful tour operator that we weren’t really shouting about. We are expecting quite a big uptake now we’ve relaunched HTOL.” HTOL, launched in 2012, has
product from more than 200 suppliers. It takes £150 deposits and offers a 24-hour emergency line if something goes wrong. Its total sales over six years
have surpassed £226 million, rising from £1.3 million in 2012 to £65.2 million so far in 2018. Mark Cornock joined Hays
Travel as head of B2B sales in May from Avis. Two weeks ago, he promoted Michael Smiles to the new role of trade support manager, with a remit to visit agents and attend roadshows. Nisha Bean has moved into the
role of B2B sales manager and HTOL has 85 dedicated staff. Cornock said: “Having HTOL
really allows agents to be creative and deliver a tailored product. “There were fears with PTD that
agents couldn’t offer differentiated products, but HTOL takes the risk away so you can concentrate on selling holidays.” IG member Island Travel is a big
user of HTOL, which accounts for around 30% of its sales. Director Rikki Dunnage said: “It gives you the flexibility to create tailored packages and takes away the risk.”
IG members told ‘the web is our friend’
Independence Group members were encouraged to embrace the internet as Hays Travel bosses declared “the web is our friend”. Both retail director Jane Schumm and managing director John
Hays used the phrase in presentations at this year’s IG conference. Schumm said: “Hays Travel now has the right mix. We have combined the high street with the digital world – our staff embrace technology.” Collectively, IG members saw customer numbers rise 12% in the
year to September 30, with sales growing by 21% and profits up 19%. Members’ average sale price rose from £883 to £920. Short-haul accounted for 49% of sales, long-haul 36% and cruise 15%.
director of 15-shop Miles Morgan Travel, spoke of his rise from “selling train tickets” to becoming managing director of Lunn Poly prior to starting his own agency. He recalled how in 2006, when his new business was struggling, he met John Hays to seek his advice, and said small-business owners had to have resilience to battle through tough times and to trust and empower staff. John Hays capped off the session, hosted by BBC Breakfast’s Steph McGovern, and talked about being refused an Abta licence on his first shop – which was opened within his mum’s clothing retailer in Seaham. He revealed that the reason he started the Independence Group was “because I struggled when I was getting started”. Hays Travel surpassed the £1 billion turnover milestone this year.
From left: Steph McGovern, John Hays, Miles Morgan and Nicola Park
11 October 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
