NEWS 1
John Hays celebrates with staff at Hays Travel’s Seaham store
YOU NEED TO KNOW
‘We’re all blown away by the staff bonus!’
Hays Travel head of retail Paula Barrett (pictured) is just one of the company’s staff to be celebrating
after receiving a bonus when the company reached the £1 billion sales milestone. Barrett joined 27 years ago as a 16-year-old apprentice and worked her way up. She received a bonus of £2,700 – £100 per year worked at Hays. “We were all blown away by
Hays plans big expansion as it tops £1bn in sales
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
Hays Travel plans to expand the business with more shops and homeworkers as it passes the £1 billion sales landmark and rewards staff with more than £500,000 in bonuses.
The company aims to open 20
shops in the next 12 months and boost its number of homeworkers from 227 to 300 by the end of October, while actively pushing its inhouse Hays Tour Operation to third-party agents. Speaking after turnover at the
UK’s largest independent travel agency rose from £847.8 million to £1.006 billion for the 12 months to the end of April 2018, an increase of 18%, managing director John
Hays said: “We want to keep our foot on the accelerator.” Hays also surprised staff by announcing bonuses worth £100 for every year of employment with the business, an outlay that will account for more than half of a £1 million budget to be spent thanking staff, clients and suppliers. The company has 1,600 staff, excluding 212 self-employed homeworkers, whose employment status precludes a bonus. More than 100 staff have
clocked up 15 years or more, so will receive at least £1,500 each. The longest-serving employee, Sedgefield branch manager Julie- Ann Humphrey, will get £3,400. “I really believe happy staff
make happy customers,” said Hays. Hays’ homeworking division saw the biggest growth in the last
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travelweekly.co.uk 17 May 2018
“We want to keep a steady rollout [of new stores] and have several in the pipeline”
12 months, with sales up 44% and an extra 62 homeworkers recruited since last April. “We have not been punching our
weight in regards to homeworking but in the last year that has changed dramatically,” said Hays. The company is also targeting
increased sales of its inhouse dynamic packaging tour operation through independent agents, who currently account for 10%, with talks under way with some Hays Independence Group members. Hays tipped the Atol protection offered by its inhouse packages
it,” she said. “We didn’t have a clue this would happen and I’ve no idea what I’ll spend it on!” She added: “We have a lot of
staff loyalty in the business; you feel part of a family. “A lot of it comes from John himself; staff are always at the forefront of his mind.”
to appeal to agents who do not want to take on the “more explicit responsibilities” facing agencies under new package travel rules from July 1. Mark Cornock, formerly of Avis, has been appointed in the new role of head of B2B sales to market the brand to independent agents. The plan to open 20 more
shops in the next year follows a 23% increase in retail sales. Hays currently has 166 shops, 20 of which opened in the past year. Hays announced the company’s
success at his first shop in Seaham, County Durham, originally a travel desk at the back of his mother’s clothes shop. He said: “I never dreamt of reaching £1 billion sales.” Seaham branch manager Sharon
Clyde said staff were “over the moon” about the bonus.
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