The move will bring the total number of properties in Hays retail estate to 142 overall by the end of the year – 18 of which, will have been opened within the last 12 months.

It comes as owner and managing director John Hays confirmed the agency would also “almost certainly” open new branches in the Leeds/Bradford area in 2017, as Hays Travel continues to expand out of its north-east heartland.

Speaking onboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas at the Hays IG Conference, John Hays told TTG the agency chain was planning to open a number of shops to help “plug gaps” in the Yorkshire cities. It currently already has eight stores in the area after first launching in the region at the end of 2015.

Hays added that the agency was also considering increasing its store numbers on the south coast and was “absolutely” looking to grow its homeworker ranks.

“In terms of shop openings we have pretty much got [the north-east] saturated and there aren’t major opportunities left for us in that area,” he said

“We’ve opened a few shops in the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, so where we’ll be opening will almost certainly be within that [area] and on the south coast we’re filling in gaps and we’ll potentially expand our reach.”

Elsewhere the company announced plans to roll out its new “Hays Advisor” customer relationship management (CRM) system next month.

The platform will collate Hays customer feedback on hotels for agents to show to their clients, as well as tracking customer-booking habits for travel consultants to be able to better cater for clients.

Hays said the system was currently in a “pilot phase” and would be available across the entirety of the group’s network.

“We are really excited by it and we think it’s the best out there. Some travel review sites are open to abuse, but with Hays Advisor we know these clients have actually been and it gives us real credibility,” Hays added.