Hays £3bn sales cue bonus bonanza Robin Murray
Hays Travel will pay out millions in bonuses to its 4,500 staff to celebrate hitting £3 billion in sales. The agency is giving regular
staff members £100 for every year they have worked at the company to “thank them for their role in Hays Travel’s success and their loyalty”. All personal travel consultants and
Explorer franchisees will receive a shopping voucher for every year they have been a Hays Travel member. Owner and chair Dame Irene
Hays revealed the agency had reached the £3 billion milestone, one month ahead of the end of its financial year, in a video message shared with staff on March 20.
The agency already recognises
long-serving employees at celebratory dinners, the most recent of which was held in February to honour 23 members of staff who had reached service milestones of 10, 20 and 30 years. Among the attendees at the
event in Durham was chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston, who has been with Hays Travel for 20 years, having started as an apprentice. Dame Irene said the payout was
another way to recognise the “excellent work” of the company’s employees. She added: “Since Hays
Travel began trading 45 years ago, we have always remained true to our vision and values, and our strategic priorities: our
Attraction Tickets staff share £1m in ownership switch
Lucy Huxley
Do Something Different parent company Attraction Tickets is to give more than £1 million in bonuses to staff as it transitions the business to employee ownership. Owner, founder and chief executive Oliver Brendon and other shareholders have sold their shares and will hand ownership of the business, the largest seller of theme park ticket and hotel packages in the UK, to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). The company’s total transaction value in the year to December
6 27 MARCH 2025
31, 2024, was £197 million, with earnings before interest and taxes (Ebitda) of £6 million. The EOT board will be chaired by Juliet Thorburn, global HR director at fellow employee-owned business Scott Bader, and Brendon and his leadership team will continue to manage the Attraction Tickets business. They were joined this week by Emilie Mouquot, who assumes the new role of chief growth officer following six years at Not On The High Street and previous spells at Tripadvisor and Viator. Brendon said: “We need a clear, actionable growth strategy
Lenore Mason, general manager
From left: Amelia Costella, Lenore Mason, Evie Cooper and Nadia Ambler
people, our customers, and the communities where we operate. “As I have said many times, our
success is down to our people, which is why achieving this £3 billion milestone is an opportunity to demonstrate just how much their excellent work and unwavering loyalty are appreciated.”
for recruitment and people services, who has worked at Hays for 37 years, said: “Although Hays Travel has seen many changes over the years, it has always been totally committed to its values and people. Today’s news is exciting for everyone and just shows how much we are appreciated.” Retail sales manager Luke Nicol,
who has worked at Hays for five years, shared his delight on Facebook, saying: “How amazing is this? That’s £500 for me.” Hays Travel’s total transaction
value for the 2024 financial year was £2.55 billion – an increase of 17% on the same period in 2023 (£2.19 billion) – with group profit before tax of £73.4 million.
From left: Juliet Thorburn with Oliver Brendon and Attraction Tickets head of people Karen Court
to ensure every department understands their objectives and how success is measured. Emilie will be instrumental in developing and implementing this.”
The Employee Ownership Trust
deal values the Attraction Tickets business at £41 million and each of Attraction Tickets’ 128 employees will share in EOT completion bonuses worth more than £1 million. Attraction Tickets believes employee ownership will enable the business to grow organically while “preserving its unique corporate culture, with all employees participating in its financial success
in an enduring structure”. Brendon added: “We have concluded a transaction that will reward the business’s most vital stakeholders – its employees. “Employee ownership is one of the most equitable forms of capitalism, whereby value is shared among those who work hard to create it. “This ownership structure will not lead to a softer commercial approach; in fact, employees and management will be more focused than ever on business performance because they will benefit from our ongoing success.”
travelweekly.co.uk
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