The Hays family made the headlines in 2019 when they bought all 555 former Thomas Cook shops, re-employing 2,500 former Cook staff who had been made redundant following the travel giant’s collapse.
Since John Hays’ passing in November 2020, Dame Irene has taken over a more prominent role in the company, becoming the face of Hays Travel and overseeing its expansion and growth.
Over the past 44 years, Hays Travel has in fact become one of the biggest family-owned companies in the country as well as the UK’s largest independent travel agent.
Earlier this year, Hays Travel announced it had tripled its profits to almost £52 million in the 12 months ended 30 April 2023.
According to Dame Irene, that was driven by people’s pandemic savings, their unfulfilled “wanderlust” and the great customer service offered by her agency staff during Covid.
“It’s the need for people to have confidence, value for money, expertise, and just knowing where to go when things go wrong,” she told TTG in late January. The company made the headlines earlier this month when it announced the acquisition of Miles Morgan Travel.
