AGM Statement
Summary by AI BETAClose X
LEI:213800OC94PF2D675H41
Hostelworld Group plc ("Hostelworld" or the "Group")
2026 AGM Statement
Year-to-date revenue momentum maintained; FY 2026 guidance reiterated subject to macro conditions.
6 May 2026: Hostelworld, a ground-breaking social network-powered Online Travel Agent ("OTA"), is holding its AGM today at 12 noon at the offices of the Company, 8 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
At the AGM, Marieke Bax, Chair of Hostelworld, will make the following statement:
"It is my privilege to address shareholders as Chair of Hostelworld for the first time at today's Annual General Meeting. I would like to thank shareholders for their continued support and confidence in the Group, and I look forward to engaging with you over the coming months as I form my own views on the business and the opportunities ahead.
Against the currently challenging backdrop, I am encouraged by the strength of the platform the team has built and the underlying engagement we are seeing on the network. An AI agent can book a bed almost anywhere, only Hostelworld can introduce travellers to the people they will spend their evening with. This is a structural advantage that compounds as AI reshapes how people discover and book travel. Our near-term focus is on the disciplined execution of our strategic initiatives: scaling third-party inventory plus activating Social Passes through paid marketing and integrating OccasionGenius into our platform, during the second quarter of this year.
The broader macroeconomic consequences of the Middle East conflict are uncertain and difficult to predict. To date, the Group's overall revenues have not been materially affected. Demand for intra-European travel remains in line with our expectations and is currently offsetting softness in long-haul demand from Asia, where bookings on routes through the affected region have been impacted. Given the relatively short booking windows in our segment of the market, the Board will continue to monitor trading patterns closely and update shareholders should the position change.
On that basis, and assuming no further escalation of the Middle East conflict, the Board reiterates its guidance for the financial year 2026 in line with current market expectations."
AGM details:
The results of the resolutions relating to the AGM will be published later today. Further information relating to the AGM is published on the Company's website:
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 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
About Hostelworld Group
Hostelworld Group plc is a ground-breaking social network-powered Online Travel Agent ("OTA") with a clear mission to help travellers find people to hang out with. Our mission is founded on the insight that most travellers go hostelling to meet other people. Our platform connects travellers through a range of social features, including city and hostel chat rooms, AI-powered recommendations, and event discovery, facilitating real-world interactions before, during and after their trips.
Hostelworld's vision is to be the world's leading social travel platform. Since launching its social network in 2022, the Group has welcomed over 3.4 million social members, with engagement growing faster than stays booked. Messaging volumes grew 81% year-on-year in 2025, and social members book approximately twice as frequently as non-members, demonstrating the platform's utility and its contribution to customer lifetime value.
Our proprietary dataset, spanning over 3.4 million social members, 16 million chat messages and 17 million bookings since launch, strengthens our ability to understand traveller behaviour, personalise experiences, and build network effects that differentiate Hostelworld from generalist OTAs. This data asset, which is exclusively ours and compounds in value as our community grows, underpins our AI-powered matching and recommendation capabilities.
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Ireland, Hostelworld is a recognised brand with around 270 employees, hostel and accommodation partners across more than 180 countries, and a growing suite of products including budget accommodation and Social Passes that extend the platform well beyond the traditional hostelling category.
Hostelworld has a long-standing commitment to improving the sustainability of the hostelling industry. The Group has introduced a hostel-specific Staircase to Sustainability framework, accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which helps partners adopt more sustainable practices while giving travellers clearer information for decision-making. Customers can choose to offset trip emissions, and for the fifth consecutive year the Group has retained the 'Taking Climate Action' label from 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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