Sunderland holiday company Hays Travel has achieved a remarkable third-place ranking in the prestigious UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), placing it among the nation's highest-rated organisations for service excellence.
Top Three Position in National Rankings
The independent travel business found itself in esteemed company, being surpassed only by high street retail giant John Lewis and banking leader first direct in the comprehensive national survey. This marks the first year that Hays Travel has been included in the influential index, which evaluates 272 organisations across 13 different sectors of the UK economy.
The UKCSI serves as the country's definitive barometer of customer satisfaction, published biannually by The Institute of Customer Service to provide businesses and consumers with consistent performance benchmarks. First direct claimed the top position with a score of 87, followed closely by John Lewis with 86.4, while Hays Travel achieved an impressive 86.2 points.
Tourism Category Leadership
Beyond its overall third-place achievement, Hays Travel demonstrated particular dominance within its sector by topping the tourism category rankings. The company outperformed 22 other online, retail and hospitality businesses in this competitive field, surpassing well-known names including Airbnb, Premier Inn, On the Beach, Trivago, Hilton, easyJet Holidays and Expedia.
Recognition of Service Excellence
Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, attended the official launch of the latest UKCSI results and participated in a panel discussion chaired by Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service. The panel also included Chris Pitt, CEO of first direct, creating a forum for customer service leaders to share insights and best practices.
"I'm very proud of all our people for their work to achieve this," Dame Irene commented. "Making sure our customers are cared for is at the heart of our business success. We are delighted to achieve third place in our first appearance on the UK Customer Satisfaction Index. Hays Travel has a long-held reputation for providing exceptional service and we know how important the care, professionalism and expertise of our people is to our customers."
Industry Endorsement
Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, offered strong endorsement of Hays Travel's achievement: "Being ranked third in the January 2026 UK Customer Satisfaction Index is a strong endorsement of Hays Travel's continued commitment to putting customers at the heart of the business. In a highly competitive sector, this result reflects the organisation's focus on trusted advice, personal service and consistently delivering experiences that build confidence and loyalty among customers."
Broader Recognition Context
The UKCSI, first established in 2008, provides an independent benchmark of customer satisfaction using consistent measurement criteria across hundreds of organisations. The index has become an essential tool for businesses seeking to track and compare their customer service performance within the broader UK economy.
The complete top ten rankings included several notable organisations alongside Hays Travel:
- Nationwide building society
- Jet2Holidays.com
- Starling Bank
- PetPlan
- Tesco Mobile
- PayPal
- Holland & Barrett
- Marks & Spencer and M&S Food
This recognition reinforces Hays Travel's position as a customer service leader within the competitive travel and tourism sector, while highlighting the company's commitment to maintaining the high standards that have characterised its operations for decades.
