Hays Travel is putting greater emphasis on the lates market amid concerns high street agents are losing bookings to online giants.
Speaking at the group’s annual conference in Antalya, Hays owner and Director Dame Irene Hays said: “We’re really delighted with where we are with forwards for 2027, but increasingly, the lates market is taking the biggest share of holidays.”
She said the group now needs to focus on the lates market, where online travel agents have been stronger. “I would say that the big online players have been better at the lates market than we, as a traditional travel agent, have been, which is why we’re giving it such a focus,” she added.
Chief Operating Officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston said he believed all high street agents were underperforming in the lates market compared with other parts of the travel industry.
“I think this is the same for pretty much all high street travel agents, when we speak to travel trade partners, the high street under-indexes on lates. So we see this as a big opportunity,” he said.
Irene added: “The more important it becomes, and the bigger percentage of our total business, the more we have to take it seriously.”
Head of Retail Paula Barrett said the lates market had been particularly strong in July and August, which she described as ‘exceptional’ trading months, adding: “The lates market was really strong, and we capitalised on it.”
Hays plans to add late bookings (made within 13 weeks of departure) into its key performance indicators (KPIs) in February, allowing agents to track their performance against lates-market targets each morning, in the same way they currently monitor areas such as cruise and long-haul.
Irene said: “The very fact that we’re introducing it as one of our KPIs demonstrates how seriously we’re taking it really. We haven’t done that before.”
Head of Sales Tanya Cooper said cruise, long-haul and touring are generating a greater share of lates customers, with more touring customers booking later but travelling sooner.
Jonathon said economic pressures could also encourage customers to leave their holiday decisions later, a trend he expects to continue into next year.
“There’s always a lates opportunity. When we talk about the budgets, energy costs, costs of living, customers might feel more confident just leaving that consideration period a little bit later,” he said. “There’s more capacity coming, so there’s more competition, more competition’s good for customers.”
Hays said winter 2026/27 profit, covering November 2026 to April 2027 departures, is currently 15% ahead of the equivalent point last year.
