Hostelworld Group plc, the leading Online Travel Agent focused on the hostelling category, says business is recovering to pre-Covid levels in some markets after a torrid two years of trading.
For 2021, the company reported a net loss of €36m on turnover of €17m. Bookings last year were 1.5 million, one-fifth of the pre-pandemic volume in 2019.
At the company’s AGM, chairman Michael Cawley is reporting that the strong start experienced in the first 12 weeks of 2022 has continued through April and into early May. In the most recent trading week, bookings reached 73% of 2019 levels, with revenue reaching 97% due to increased booking fees.
According to Cawley: “Overall we are seeing the recovery continue across all destinations and demand segments. In particular, booking demand into Europe, our largest destination in 2019, has almost fully recovered to 2019 levels, with some markets exceeding 100%.
“We also see booking momentum returning in Oceania and Asian destinations as markets reopen for international travel, albeit more slowly. Long haul bookings have now reached 70% of 2019, with trips from the US and Canada into European destinations at 2019 levels.
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“The performance to date has been stronger than we had initially expected, and we are well geared to the travel recovery. Despite a number of external factors including inflationary pressures and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, we anticipate this strong recovery trajectory to continue.”
UK asset manager Premier Milton recently raised its stake in Hostelworld to 13.1% from 12.3% previously.
Hostelworld provides hostel accommodation options and hostel focused small group adventure tour products in 180 countries via its website and native app platforms in 19 languages.
In April, Hostelworld launched 'The Solo System', billed as a set of social features enabling travellers to interact and connect with like-minded people.
Users searching on Hostelworld can find trending places with the 'See Who's Going' feature, and once a booking is made they can chat to people visiting the same locations.
The company says that three-quarters of Hostelworld's customers crave a social hostelling experience, but 30% say they are nervous about chatting to other people in hostels.
CEO Gary Morrison stated: "By powering social connections through our platform before our customers even get to their destination, we are giving them an incredibly compelling reason to book with Hostelworld. We will continue to launch more social products in coming months including LinkUps, a feature that encourages travellers to create gatherings and social activities."
