Some nights tell you exactly how far a business has come. At the TTG Travel Industry Awards 2026 in London, one of the biggest evenings in the entire travel calendar, Not Just Travel and our consultants earned nine nominations across six awards and came away with three major titles.
It ranks among the best results in our history, and it is a clear sign of where this business stands today.
The John Hays Entrepreneur Award
The Travel Franchise was recognised with The John Hays Entrepreneur Award, collected by our co-founders Paul Harrison and Steve Witt.
While the award bears the founders’ names, what it really celebrates is the business they have built. John Hays created Hays Travel from scratch into a company turning over £1 billion a year, and our business is now approaching £1 billion in sales since we began. The judges recognised the investment we make in people and training, the opportunities we have created for other travel entrepreneurs, and the many lives this business has changed.
There was a personal significance too. John was a mentor to Paul over the past decade, someone he respected, learned from and turned to as the business grew, which made being recognised in John’s name especially meaningful, all the more so with his wife Dame Irene Hays among the judges.
Two consultants among the industry’s very best
On the same night, two of our own consultants earned their place among the best in the country.
Ben was named Home-Based Travel Agent of the Year, recognised for the exceptional expertise, personal service and ambitious vision that have made him one of the most respected consultants in our network.
Ben had never worked in travel when he joined us, building his business alongside a full-time job as a regional marketing manager. He expected it to tick along quietly at first, but in his very first week he had ten potential clients, one of which became an £8,000 booking to the Maldives. Within three months he couldn’t keep up with demand, went full time, completed our Money-Back Challenge and has since scaled into a thriving agency with a team of his own. His journey from complete beginner to award-winning agent is exactly what our support is built to make possible.
Anne was named New Home-Based Travel Agent of the Year, celebrated for her outstanding customer care, creativity and her ability to spot opportunities others miss. Anne’s story makes the win all the more remarkable.
A midwife for nearly 20 years, she joined us at 59, recovering from a heart attack just before her training, and took 18 bookings in her very first month. She went on to complete our Money-Back Challenge in under seven months, and has since built a thriving business with a loyal client base and a repeat booking rate most established agents would envy.
The Money-Back Challenge is one of the most distinctive things we offer, and something no other travel franchise does. Hit a set commercial target within your first year, and we refund your entire franchise fee, so for those who reach it, the business can effectively cost nothing. It exists because we are confident in our model and in the people we train, and we are willing to put our own money behind that belief.
Paul and Steve were honoured for helping others build businesses. Ben and Anne were honoured for the businesses they have built. Celebrating both on the same night is about as proud as it gets.
The three wins were part of a much bigger night for Not Just Travel, with nine nominations across six categories in total, one of our strongest ever showings at an event of this scale.
Touring & Adventure Expert of the Year
- Ashley, Travel Chaps
High Street Travel Agent of the Year
- Matt, Travel Chaps
Home-based Travel Agent of the Year
- Ben, Out of this World Travel
- Janet, The Laceys – Not Just Travel
New Retail Travel Agent of the Year
- Billy, Travel Chaps
New Home-based Travel Agent of the Year
- Anne, Not Just Travel
- Joanna, Jo and Jo – Not Just Travel
- Wendy – Not Just Travel
The John Hays Entrepreneur Award
- Steve Witt & Paul Harrison, Founders, Not Just Travel
To see so many of our consultants shortlisted alongside the most established names in UK travel says everything about the strength of the business right now.
What this means for anyone thinking of joining
There is something in this night for anyone thinking about starting a travel business of their own.
Ben and Anne didn’t come from travel. Almost nobody who joins us does. They arrived with no industry background whatsoever and, in Anne’s case, only recently, and they are now standing on the same stage as the most established names in UK travel, holding national awards. That is what the right training, the right support and genuine belief in people can produce.
And this is the quiet power of building with an established, award-winning company rather than going it alone. Credibility in this industry normally takes years to earn. Suppliers, customers and partners have to learn to trust you, and that trust is slow and hard-won when you are a single agent starting from nothing. Join The Travel Franchise and that credibility is yours from day one. You are trading under a name that judges, suppliers and clients already recognise and respect, a name that was on the screen at the TTG Awards nine times in one night.
You cannot shortcut a reputation like that. But you can join a business that has already built it, and let it work for you from your very first booking.
A run of recognition that speaks for itself
These wins did not happen in isolation. They follow our Top Extra Large Homeworking Agency win at the Jet2holidays Non-Retail Summit, and sit alongside being named Best Lifestyle Franchise in the World two years running and Best Franchise in Europe. Together, they show a business operating at the very top of its industry.
Steve put it best when he compared the business to a Formula One team.
“I’ve said it before, we’re like a Formula One team. The drivers get seen the most. But without an incredible car, and a fantastic team that designs, builds and makes everything work, nothing happens.”
The awards belong to Paul, Steve, Ben and Anne, but the pride reaches every consultant and every member of the team who makes nights like this possible.
Huge congratulations to all four winners, and to every shortlisted consultant.
If watching a night like this has made you wonder whether you could build something of your own, this is the business to build it with.
