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Franchise opportunities with the UK’s largest independent travel agent
INTRODUCING THE UK’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENT
Hays Travel is a family-run business started in the north-east of England in 1980. From the minute we opened our first small retail shop in Seaham, County Durham, we have shared a passion for the travel industry.
The company has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Today, we are proud to be the UK’s largest independent travel agent: our annual turnover reached over a billion in 2018, and we employ over 3,000 people. Across the country we have more than 460 retail shops and over 500 experienced travel agents who work from their homes.
benefit from Hays Travel’s buying power, technology, and back office expertise.
We’ve come a long way, and we’re growing all the time. Our franchise product could give you the chance to run your own profitable business as part of the Hays Travel family. Take a look at this brochure to find out more.
On top of this we run the Hays Travel Independence Group; a consortium of independent travel businesses who
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We’re building on a successful past...
1980
1984
1990 First Hays Travel call centre opens
1997 The company diversifies into homeworking
2007 Hays Travel Group hits £300 million turnover
John Hays opens first branch of Hays Travel at the back of his mum’s children’s wear shop in Seaham, Co Durham
Third shop opens in Washington, Tyne and Wear
Hays Travel recognised as one of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK 2006
Hays Travel opens second shop in Sunderland, where the company has its headquarters today 1982
Expansion reaches seven shops in the North East 1987
Hays Travel Independence Group is formed 1995
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2013
2016 Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For again!
2018
2021
Acquisition of Bath Travel, the South of England’s largest independent travel agency
Turnover hits £1 billion
+ Acquires Explorer Travel Homeworking Franchise Recruits an additional 100 agents for our growing Tour Operation
Turnover will pass £2bn by our April 2023 year end.
3 new franchise branches opened
Just Go becomes a Hays Travel franchise 2014
Acquisition of the Thomas Cook retail estate 2019
Turnover hits the £500 million mark 2012
Turnover reaches £850 million 2017
in 2022. 2022
...and you could be part of our future.
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1 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY Experience
Introducing Jane Schumm - Retail Director
I have worked in Retail Travel for almost 40 years and as Director of Retail for the last 12 years.
I am passionate about retail and the success that we can achieve together! Having started my career in retail and working my way from retail shop manager to Director I know the steps we need to take together in order to make a retail travel business a success. Once you start your Hays Travel Franchise journey, you will have the support of my team and I every step of the way. I thrive in personally supporting our franchisees to optimise their sales and profit. I have years of experience in taking a non travel shop and supporting people
through the set-up, the brand values, and the training; everything you will need to ensure that your shop runs efficiently and profitably to succeed. I will be with you every step of the way. I will be the link between you and our 600 strong head office team who will be there to support you too.
shop and also carry out strategic retail planning meetings to focus on the key goals so we can achieve your objectives together.
I will also share regularly latest booking trends, key marketing campaigns and industry insights.
Your Hays Travel Franchise will be a journey we will travel on together!
We will hold regular trading meetings to support the day to day running of the
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Let me tell you the journey we have been on so far...
a 14-branch travel agency formerly known as Just Go. The group of shops was rebranded as Hays Travel and the network expanded significantly. The company continued to grow successfully and now has 46 branches, an annual turnover of £125 million, and employs 262 people. 2019 saw us acquire a licence to operate the Thomas Cook retail estate. We also provided re-employment opportunities to former staff who were made redundant following the collapse of the travel giant. This also saw a further expansion in our franchise division. Another year later in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, Hays Travel took over 20 Tailor Made Travel shops as well as retaining around 100 employees. Today, Hays Travel has huge buying power and invests heavily in state-of- the-art technology. The company has an award-winning in-house training programme. We have won Best High
Street Large Agency at the Agent Achievement Awards, we are a Which? recommended holiday provider and recognised as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer, as well as being a Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For. Hays Travel specialises in providing good value, quality holidays, alongside excellent customer service. Fully ABTA and ATOL protected, we offer our customers complete financial security, and our independent status means staff are able to offer impartial advice and an extensive range of travel opportunities. The company has a highly skilled commercial team who work with thousands of suppliers to ensure we have the best range and variety of holiday products to offer.
From its inception, the business expanded steadily with shops opening up across the north-east. In 1990, the first Hays Travel call centre opened, and in 1995 the Hays Travel Independence Group was formed – a consortium of independent businesses retaining their own independence and branding, but benefiting from Hays Travel’s buying power, technology, and expertise.
In 1997, the company diversified into homeworking.
In 2013 our retail coverage expanded hugely with the acquisition of southern England’s largest independent travel agency, Bath Travel. Founded in 1924 and based in Bournemouth, Bath Travel had over 60 branches and 330 employees who joined the Hays Travel family.
In 2021 we aquired our first Homeworking Franchise, Explorer Travel to further enhance our homeworking proposition.
A year later, in 2014; we took on our first franchise in the north-west of England,
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What kind of holidays do we sell?
3000+ staff
uk’s largest independent travel agent and still growing
Where do our customers book their holidays with us?
high street 90 %
call centre 10 %
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How many cases did our customers carry around the world?
3 . 3 5 m
What are our top selling foreign exchange currencies?
euro
Where do we send our customers?
us dollar
turkish lira
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2 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY
Independence
We are completely independent, allowing us the freedom to work with the suppliers we choose to - and to offer your customers our expert, impartial advice.
The commercial team works with over 300 suppliers to ensure we have the right mix of product, as well as the best commercial terms. The team communicates daily with suppliers to negotiate excellent commission rates, staff incentives, overrides, and educational trips for staff. Our size and respect within the industry means we have considerable buying power, and the best terms possible.
working with hundreds of suppliers; we have our own tour operation, bed bank, and transfer operation. This allows us to differentiate ourselves from the rest of
the market, negotiate better rates, and to build our own holiday packages for our customers.
As a franchisee you will benefit from all of this; as well as having access to our unique, in-house product. Besides
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Just some of our amazing supplier
r partners waiting to work with you
3 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY Training
We are committed to career development and pride ourselves on our culture of coaching. Our award-winning, Ofsted accredited training team provides bespoke programmes for every franchisee.
As a franchise member, your training support starts with a full induction, designed to support you and your business. The induction will take you through our customer service standards and ensures the Hays Travel brand retains its excellent reputation. You will learn how to use all of our selling systems and software, and become confident in all of our processes.
But the training support doesn’t stop there. We offer ongoing training to provide you with the ability to thrive in our ever-changing industry. Our award winning training and development team are here to support you and your people to give you the skills and knowledge to make your business a success. During our 43 years in the industry we are proud to have been recognised and rewarded many times; some of these achievements include 2022 Investors
in People award for learning and development up against businesses including PwC and the National Bank of Bahrain, the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service award, inclusion in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list, the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, plus many regional and national industry awards. Our owner Dame Irene Hays was awarded Dame of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to training, education, and young people.
You will walk away from this initial training with all the knowledge and skills to run a successful branch.
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4 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY Success
CASE STUDY: Don Bircham operates a Hays Travel franchise based in the north-west of England and North Wales.
In the nine years since becoming a Hays franchisee in 2014, Don has more than trebled his shop network from 14 to 46 and he has increased his turnover from £30 million to a staggering £125 million. Now part of the UK’s largest independent travel firm, Don made use of this independence to expand across the north-west and North Wales; trebling his shop network from 14 to 46 and growing his staff numbers from 86 to 262.
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Don said: “As a Hays franchise, we enjoy the support of all the Hays Travel departments, from IT, HR, payroll, and finance, to marketing and social media. Hays Travel invest heavily in state-of- the-art technology and their back office
functions are smooth and efficient; so I don’t need to worry about any of those things.
commercial terms with suppliers. This is something we could never achieve without the bigger company behind us.
“One of the best things about being part of the Hays Travel group is access to top
“And not forgetting the people. Great at their jobs and good fun with it; my relationship with all the head office teams is excellent. Jane is a great support to us not only as a Board Director but on the day to day guidance and support that we get from her. “I would definitely recommend speaking to Hays Travel about their franchise product – it could be the best business decision you will ever make.”
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“I would definitely recommend speaking to Hays Travel... it could be the best business decision you will ever make.”
Don Bircham Hays Travel Franchisee
CASE STUDY: Based in
GJN are a Franchise in Middleton in the North West and became part of the Hays Travel Franchise family in 2019. The company is owned by three former Thomas Cook shop managers who have had many years in the Industry. One of them, Nicola McGaughey said:: ““Following the Thomas Cook failure we were considering our options and met with Jane Schumm who came to meet us to talk through the Hays Travel Franchise.
“From the minute we met Jane and heard about the Hays Travel Franchise we just knew this was what we wanted to do.
Middleton, GJN is a Hays Travel Franchise owned by three former Thomas Cook shop managers.
“Myself and two of my colleagues decided a franchise was for us and formed our own company. This felt daunting as even though we were experienced travel managers we had never run our own business and were unsure how it would all work. “Since opening in 2019 we have never looked back and the support we have had on leases, technology, people support and maximising our business opportunity has been amazing. We are so glad we made the switch to a Hays Travel Franchise and we need not have worried as the support and guidance we have received from Jane and her team has been brilliant!”
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“We are so glad we made the switch to a Hays Travel Franchise... the support and guidance we have received has been brilliant!”
Nicola McGaughey Hays Travel Franchisee
5 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY Support
As a Hays Travel Franchisee, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. You will benefit from all of the following...
Branding Make use of our highly-respected and well-recognised trading name; along with Hays Travel branding support for shop fittings & plasma screens, as well as staff uniforms, & stationery.
Technology We offer a state-of-the-art IT package, which includes access to a ‘live chat’ and telephone support team who are experienced at resolving issues remotely with little disruption to users, access to best-in-class anti-virus protection, a fully managed backup service, and the provision of high-quality equipment and connections. Benefit from all hardware, user-friendly selling systems, automated credit card authorisation, and reporting software, emails, an internal intranet system, and website.
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Hays Travel can also help find the right property for you and your business.
Property Our dedicated and experienced property consultant is on hand to help you with identifying towns and properties as well as guiding you through property negotiations and advising on lease terms. Once you have the perfect property, Hays Travel will provide brand guidelines and support with fitting out your shop, ensuring you can deliver a bright and welcoming environment for your customers
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HR & Recruitment We have almost 40 years’ experience in HR and recruitment. We can guide and support you to make the right decisions for the people areas of your business.
Foreign Exchange
Business Development Jane and the support team will be there as your first point of contact for any questions. They will provide you with strategy techniques and when the time is right they will be there to support your growth. Working in partnership with Jane and her team will help get the business to where you want it to be and make sure it is a success.
Make money from foreign currency sales in your branch. We will provide you with the currency stock, an industry-leading Moneycard and selling systems and also support on the regulatory side in order to sell foreign exchange. We will be on hand to offer selling support on increasing revenue through your own holiday customers and ensure this area drives profit for your business. We will work together to ensure that foreign exchange becomes an integral part of your business and proves a very important profit generator.
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“We’re experts in providing retail support, and giving great customer service to branches is our priority every day.”
Grace Knight Sales Support
“We have key accounts with all social media channels, and our digital strategy is constantly evolving. We love to share our knowledge with you.”
Natalie Heatlie Community Manager
Finance
Marketing We have an expert, in-house marketing team, and invest heavily in our marketing. As a Hays Travel Franchisee you have access to our point of sale materials, e-marketing and direct mail campaigns, press adverts, Feefo client review service, radio adverts, and, if you’re in the right catchment area, our TV ad too.
Social Media Our head office is buzzing with social media experts. Let them use their skills to help you make the most of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With our unique regional based approach to social media you will see your branch elevate into the digital world and harness the success of a socially successful brand.
Our finance team are on hand to answer any financial queries you may have. You will have access to daily reports, and the team are great at helping our franchisees make the most of these for financial planning. You will also benefit from our state-of-the-art selling system, which manages your bookings seamlessly through to our back office system without the need for any manual intervention. Our head office team in Sunderland looks after all the back office administration on your behalf, leaving you free to get on with running your business. We will look after your commission payments, staff incentives and supplier overrides, back office supplier payments, customer collections, and payroll.
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Earning Potential Weekly Predictions
SHOP A
SHOP B
SHOP C
Average weekly turnover (Travel & Forex Sales) 86K Average weekly commissions on turnover 8K Average weekly profit before establishment costs 3K
Average weekly turnover (Travel & Forex Sales) 144K Average weekly commissions on turnover 13K Average weekly profit before establishment costs 5K
Average weekly turnover (Travel & Forex Sales) 288K Average weekly commissions on turnover 26K Average weekly profit before establishment costs 11K
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Earning Potential Annual Predictions
£15,000,000
£15,000,000
£10,000,000
£7,500,000
£4,500,000
£5,000,000
£1,372,500
£686,250
£552,205
£411,750 £157,473
£269,695
£0
SHOP A
SHOP B
SHOP C
TURNOVER
COMMISSION
P&L before est costs
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to have a travel background? Not necessarily as full training is given. Having acquired suitable premises, how long will it take to start trading? The average duration for shop fitout and go live date is 8 – 12 weeks following lease completion.
I have an existing travel retail business, can I retain my own business trading name whilst operating a Hays Travel franchise? No, however we do support this model within our Independence Group consortium. Please click here for more information. I already have an existing travel business, can I become a Hays Travel franchise? Yes, talk to us today on how we can support this transition. How long does the training take? We require our franchisees and/or their nominated employees to attend a 2-week training programme. Hays Travel Franchisees will benefit from continuous training and support.
Will I have to worry about the ATOL & ABTA financial protection requirements? No, Hays Travel takes care of all the regulatory requirements of the travel industry. Is my success guaranteed? What our successful franchisees have shown us is that hard work, careful site selection and dedication to their business pays dividends. We have franchises which are multi-site which indicates the Hays Travel franchise works. What is the benefit of joining as a Hays Travel Franchisee? Hays Travel is the largest travel agent in the UK and therefore you will benefit from the buying power we have and lucrative commercial deals. You will also benefit from the brand equity throughout the UK and much more. We will be able to help you all the way, so with your commitment and the Hays Travel franchise model, everything is in place for a successful future.
Will I need to prepare a business plan?
Yes, as we will need to satisfy ourselves that what you project in your business plan is both realistic and achievable. Jane and her senior team will support potential franchisees with planning and projecting for the business. Can I hear from existing franchisees? Yes, introductions can certainly be made.
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IF YOU ARE READY TO START YOUR JOURNEY...
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WE CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO JOIN OUR FAMILY
Hays Travel Limited Gilbridge House
Keel Square Sunderland Tyne & Wear SR1 3HA
haystravel.co.uk/careers
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