The UK’s largest independent travel agent has been named among some of the best firms in the country for customer service.
Hays Travel has ranked third in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index.
The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) is the national barometer of customer satisfaction, published twice a year by The Institute of Customer Service.
It is an independent benchmark of customer satisfaction on 272 organisations and organisation types in 13 sectors.
In the top spot is banking site first direct, followed by retailer John Lewis.
Other travel organisations made the list, too, including package holiday firms.
Jet2holidays.com came in fifth place, while Jet2.com came in joint 16th place.
Plus, Virgin Holidays was ranked 26th, Trivago joint 31st and British Airways Holidays in joint 41st.
Hays Travel was in the top three best organisations in the UK for customer service
On the Beach was rated as one of the country’s 20 most improved organisations.
Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, said: ‘I’m very proud of all our people for their work to achieve this, 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.’
Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, said: ‘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.’
The UKCSI is based on an online survey of more than 15,000 consumers.
The lastest survey included 59,500 customer experiences.
John Lewis also ranked highly, coming in second place after first direct
The January 2026 UKCSI shows that overall customer satisfaction has improved since last year – in every sector.
This is the highest UKCSI score since July 2022.
All 13 UKCSI sectors are rated at least 1 point higher than in January 2025.
The biggest improvements are seen in Public Services (Local), Services, Transport, and Utilities.
Alongside Banks and Building Societies (81.3), customer satisfaction in the Tourism sector (81.6) is at the highest level recorded in the UKCSI.
