Chester-based Sykes Holiday Cottages has welcomed its 1,000th employee this month.
After beginning at a kitchen table in the Yorkshire Dales more than 30 years ago, the business has grown into one of the UK’s leading holiday rental agencies.
Just seven years ago, the company was headquartered at Lime House and employed 130 people within the area.
The company has since experienced rapid growth, including acquiring regional holiday let firms throughout the UK, and now more than two million guests a year holiday at its cottages.
More than 800 of Sykes’ 1,000 employees are based at One City Place near Chester train station – from developers and marketing professionals to accountants and customer service representatives.
Graham Donoghue, CEO at Sykes Holiday Cottages, said: “I’m feeling extremely proud of how far we’ve come as a business, but it couldn’t have happened without the hard work of each and every one of our colleagues.
“Their wellbeing is an important part of our ethos, and I believe it’s this core value that has attributed to our success with our 1,000th team member joining us this month.”
Passionate about looking after its colleagues, the business offers a range of benefits including professional development courses, hybrid working, family travel insurance and wellbeing perks such as free counselling.
Sykes’ 1000th employee, Customer and Owner Relations Specialist, Emma Pritchard, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Sykes family. I had been waiting for a role which encompassed my love for travel and my passion for helping people and felt that Sykes would be the perfect fit.”
Head of IT infrastructure and Services, Peter Weir, who is one of Sykes’ longest standing members, said: “I started working at Sykes back in 2005 when there were only around 12 of us! I was really drawn in by the challenge of working for a small family business, and it makes it even the more special to see how it’s taken off.
“There’s fond memories of having to sit on piles of brochures at our first office when we had grown out of it. We’re not quite there at One City Place but if we keep growing, we perhaps won’t be far off!”
Sykes is looking to further bolster its team by hiring a diverse range of roles, including within its customer service and owner relations teams as well as UX designers. All current positions can be found here: https://careers.sykescottages.co.uk/jobs
