REG - Hostelworld Grp PLC - Trading Statement

HostelworldAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 9557O  Hostelworld Group PLC  15 January 2026

LEI:213800OC94PF2D675H41

Hostelworld Group plc ("Hostelworld" or the "Group")

Full Year Trading Update for Year Ended 31 December 2025

Improved momentum in H2; Adjusted EBITDA in line with consensus;

Delivering on strategic milestones.

Hostelworld is pleased to provide an update on trading for the period 01
January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

Key highlights:

Positive Financial Momentum in H2 2025:

·      Revenue Growth: H2 Generated Revenue¹ increased by 7%
year-on-year (YoY), driven by a 2% increase in bookings and a 5% rise in
Average Booking Value (ABV).

·      Commission Optimisation: The effective commission rate increased
to 16.7% in H2 2025 (H2 2024: 15.4%), supported by the continued rollout of
'Elevate', our marketplace monetisation tool launched in May 2025.

·      Marketing Efficiency: Direct marketing costs as a percentage of
revenue(1) totalled 45% in H2, down from 48% in H2 2024.

Delivery of our Growth Roadmap: The Group has delivered against the 2025
milestones outlined at our April 2025 Capital Markets Day (CMD):

·      Strategic Acquisition: In October 2025, the Group acquired
OccasionGenius, a US-based B2B events discovery platform, for USD $12.0
million. The acquisition marks an important evolution of the Group's social
travel platform, enabling integrated event discovery with its existing social
and accommodation offering.

·      Social Network Monetisation: Launched "Social Passes" in November
2025, providing travellers with time-bound paid access to our social network.
This represents an important step in monetising social engagement and
broadening the Group's addressable market.

·      Inventory Expansion: Launched budget accommodation options in
December 2025. Currently available to English language iOS App users across 50
destinations, with broader rollout across platforms and languages planned for
2026.

Full Year 2025 Summary and Outlook:

·      Net Revenue(2) grew 2% to €93.8m, driven by 7.0m net bookings
(+1% YoY) and a 2% increase in ABV to €13.43.

·      Full year adjusted EBITDA is expected to be €19.9m, in line
with market consensus(3). This represents a margin of approximately 21% (2024:
24%).

·      Closing cash position of €12.2m and net debt of €1.6m. The
Group continues to execute its £5m share buy-back programme, with £3.9m
worth of shares purchased to 31 December 2025.

·      An interim dividend of 0.82€ cent per share was paid on 19
September 2025.

Management remains confident that the additional capabilities delivered during
2025 - including social monetisation, budget accommodation, and the
OccasionGenius integration - will strengthen the platform and support
long-term value creation.

1.         Generated revenue is gross revenue less cancellations and
excludes impact of deferred revenue.

2.         Net revenue is gross revenue less cancellations, deferred
revenue, rebates and accounting adjustments.

3.         Company compiled market consensus FY 2025 adjusted EBITDA
is €19.9M as of 15 January 2026.

4.         A social member is a customer who has accepted social terms
and conditions and has opted into the social features.

5.         A booking made by a customer who became a social member
prior to the booking checkout date.

Gary Morrison, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Our performance in the second half of the year reflects the disciplined
execution of the strategic roadmap we outlined at our Capital Markets Day in
April 2025. Following a softer start to the year, trends improved in H2, with
revenue growth strengthening and improved marketing efficiency. This progress
reflects our investment in marketplace monetisation, led by the rollout of
Elevate supporting higher effective commission rates in the second half, and
our continued investment in the platform throughout the year, which saw
member(4) messaging grow 81% year-on-year and social bookings(5) increase to
86% of our total, up from 82% in 2024.

During the year, the Group delivered a number of important milestones that
further strengthened our platform, competitive position and long-term growth
potential. The acquisition of OccasionGenius in late October added global
event discovery capabilities, extending our social travel offering by
integrating event discovery into our existing network and accommodation
services. In addition, the launch of 'Social Passes' in November introduced a
new monetisation mechanism and expanded our addressable market, while the
initial rollout of budget accommodation options provides increased choice to
users, with further expansion planned for 2026.

While the full financial contribution from these new features will build over
time, they represent meaningful platform enhancements, strengthening our
network effects and providing a stronger foundation for future growth. The
Group enters 2026 with a resilient balance sheet and an expanded set of
capabilities, and I remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable,
long-term value for our shareholders."

 

For further information please contact:

Hostelworld Group plc
 
                     Corporate@hostelworld.com

Gary Morrison, Chief Executive Officer

Caroline Sherry, Chief Financial Officer

David Brady, Head of Commercial Finance

 

Sodali &
Co
   hostelworld@sodali.com

Eavan Gannon / Oliver Banks
         Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446

 

About Hostelworld Group

Hostelworld Group PLC is a ground‐breaking social network powered Online
Travel Agent ("OTA") focused on the hostelling category, with a clear mission
to help travellers find people to hang out with. Our mission statement is
founded on the insight that most travellers go hostelling to meet other
people, which we facilitate through a series of social features on our
platform that connect our travellers in hostels and cities based on their
booking data. The strategy has been extraordinarily successful, generating
significant word of mouth recommendations from our customers and strong
endorsements from our hostel partners.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Ireland, Hostelworld is a well‐known
trusted brand with almost 270 employees, hostel partners in over 180
countries, and a long‐standing commitment to building a better world. To
that end, our focus over the last few years has been on improving the
sustainability of the hostelling industry. In particular, over the last two
years we have commissioned independent research to validate the category's
sustainability credentials and recently introduced a hostel specific
sustainability framework which encourages our hostel partners to move to even
more sustainable operations and also provides the data points for our
customers to make more informed decisions about where they stay. In addition,
our customers are now able to offset their trip's carbon emissions should they
wish to do so, and we have maintained our 'Taking Climate Action' label
awarded by South Pole.

Disclaimer

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate
to the future prospects, developments and business strategies of Hostelworld.
Forward-looking statements are identified by the use of such terms as
"believe", "could", "envisage", "estimate", "potential", "intend", "may",
"plan", "will" or variations or similar expressions, or the negative thereof.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based on
current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
those statements. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize,
or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, Hostelworld's actual results may
vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement.
Except as required by law, Hostelworld undertakes no obligation to publicly
release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in
this announcement to reflect any change in events, conditions or circumstances
on which any such statements are based after the time they are made.

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