HUNDREDS of jobs across the north were saved when Sunderland-headquartered Hays Travel acquired Thomas Cook’s branches here. It was a bold move given the high street’s decline then and still.
Around the time of that acquisition travel agents alongside bookies and banks featured in the top 10 declining list of retail stores as a result of the increasing prevalence of online services. But Dame Irene Hays, founder of Hays Travel alongside her late husband John Hays, doesn’t let figures get in her way.
The businesswoman, honoured with Royal titles for her travel industry contributions and recognised as a Dame for her dedication to education and youth development, has revitalised high-street travel agencies, challenging online dominance.
There were 555 new stores added to the Hays family tree during that monumental Thomas Cook move, 23 of which were based in Northern Ireland.
"When we acquired Thomas Cook in October 2019, there were 23 branches in Northern Ireland. We closed one in Ballymena in 2020 due to duplication and opened three new stores last year - Armagh, Banbridge and Downpatrick. We have five more in the works, but I can't reveal the locations just yet,” Dame Irene begins.
“The success of Hays in Northern Ireland is down to the people working in those stores. Their performance is exceptional,” she adds.
The business’ figures show within the 26 regions the company operates, Northern Ireland is consistently one of its top performers despite only joining the fold.
It’s why, Dame Irene says, the company is so committed to growth here.
"Since the pandemic, there’s also been a shift away from online travel bookings for anything beyond straightforward, like booking a flight. Complex or high-value bookings have seen a return to our stores, with a stronger migration observed in Northern Ireland.
"In this region, 48 per cent of people are opting for agencies over online bookings, surpassing the UK's average of 38 per cent. Northern Ireland's over-indexing in this trend I believe is because of our dedicated team's exceptional customer care during the pandemic."
Hays Travel, established by Dame Irene's husband John, who passed away in November 2020, holds a bitter-sweet significance for her. While John couldn't witness the post-pandemic return to the high street, his vision was pivotal in reinvigorating the brand.
John set up Hays Travel at the back of his mother’s babywear shop in 1980 in Durham, separating the Babygros from brochures using a garden trellis.
His dad, a joiner, built plywood shelving showcasing, in the early days, Butlins and UK beach trips for the most.
Within a year, Hays expanded into foreign travel but faced a hurdle when an application for a travel agency licence was rejected due to its location within the babywear shop.
“I wrote a letter back to them asking if that was the only reason, because we were a shop within a shop, and they replied, yes. So I wrote back telling them I knew of a similar setup in London where a travel agency called Thomas Cook was trading within a shop called Harrods and very soon we had our licence,” Dame Irene recalls.
Hays Travel experienced increased demand for foreign holidays and naturally expanded. In 2013, they entered the cruise sector when they acquired and rebranded Bath Travel. It’s a part of the business Dame Irene anticipates will thrive even more as the cruise industry prepares to welcome 33 per cent more vessels imminently.
"We experienced further growth when Thomas Cook faced difficulties and started with its Scotland and Ireland branches, which is where we wanted to go next anyway. As time went on, we made the decision to acquire the Yorkshire segment of the company and eventually, we took on all of Thomas Cook’s branches.
“One crucial advantage in our favour was our more cost-effective business model. We never had any debt. Thomas Cook maintained an Anglo-German management hierarchy, whereas at Hays, we operate with a very streamlined, flat structure. I maintain close connections with our frontline teams, and our organisational structure has minimal layers.”
Then the pandemic hit. It was an event that many thought would sound the death knell for the industry’s bricks-and-mortar businesses but instead, Hays has come out stronger than before.
“We almost took comfort in the fact that we had just taken on 3,000 people and were able to keep them in jobs during that period,” Dame Irene reflects.
“It’s really only in the past year that those people who were part of that acquisition have really been able to come out and show us what they can do and here in Northern Ireland, it’s been very impressive.”
With a recent turnover of £219.4 million and an operating profit of £12.45 million, Dame Irene confidently validates the company's substantial £7.8m acquisition of Thomas Cook, and the success looks set to continue.
