Appointment of Non-Executive Director and Chair

Hostelworld Group PLC

30 January 2026

 

LEI:213800OC94PF2D675H41

30 January 2026

Hostelworld Group plc 

APPOINTMENT OF NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHAIR

Hostelworld Group plc ("Hostelworld" or the "Group") announces that Marieke Bax will join the Hostelworld Board as a Non-Executive Director with effect from today's date and will assume the role of Chair with effect from 31 March 2026.  

Marieke brings extensive leadership experience in both executive and non-executive roles with a strong track record of delivering long-term shareholder value creation in listed, private equity-backed and digital and AI-enabled international customer-centric businesses. She has held senior executive positions across a range of sectors, including consumer goods, e-commerce, and corporate governance consultancy, including roles as European Head of M&A at Sara Lee Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of e-commerce start-up Hot-Orange and Managing Partner of corporate governance and communication firm Gooseberry. Most recently, Marieke served as a senior adviser to KPMG and Deloitte on innovation and disruptive M&A.

An experienced Non-Executive Director, Marieke is currently Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of InPost S.A., a Euronext Amsterdam-listed e-commerce platform specialising in e-commerce distribution, Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of MEDIQ, a PE-owned European provider of healthcare solutions, and Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Superbet Group, a tech-enabled multi-channel sports gaming operator. In the five-year period prior to her appointment, Marieke served as a Non-Executive Director of Xior Student Housing NV (Euronext Brussels) and Fastned B.V. (Euronext Amsterdam), and as Non-Executive Director and Chair at Climate Transition Capital B.V. (Euronext Amsterdam). A multi-linguist, Marieke has lived and worked in multiple countries and has a longstanding interest in connecting people across cultures, aligning closely with Hostelworld's global social travel community.

Her broad boardroom experience, digital and e-commerce insight, and focus on innovation and governance will support the ongoing evolution of the business into the world's leading social travel platform and the execution of the Group's strategic roadmap outlined at its April 2025 Capital Markets Day.

Carl G. Shepherd, Interim Chair, commented:

"The Board conducted an extensive search process, and we are delighted that Marieke is joining the Board and taking on the Chair role. Marieke was the unanimous choice of the Board and brings a strong record of supporting shareholder value as well as deep experience of customer-focused, high-growth platform businesses and a proven commitment to high standards of corporate governance. I am confident that Marieke will provide the Group with the expertise and leadership needed as we continue to execute on our strategic roadmap".

Marieke Bax commented:

"I am delighted to join the Hostelworld Board as a Non-Executive Director and as its Chair from 31 March next, and I look forward to working with the Board and the management team to deliver on the exciting strategy announced in April 2025. The additional capabilities delivered during 2025, together with the Group's uniquely differentiated position as a social travel platform, I believe will provide a strong foundation for achieving the Group's next phase of growth and delivering value for its shareholders and other stakeholders."

On appointment, Marieke will be a member of both the Remuneration Committee and Nomination Committee. With effect from 31 March 2026, Carl G. Shepherd will step down from his roles as Interim Chair and Interim Chair of the Nomination Committee and will resume his previous roles as Senior Independent Director and member of the Audit Committee. With effect from 31 March 2026, Marieke will become Chair of the Nomination Committee.

This announcement is made in accordance with Rules 6.1.5 to 6.1.7 of Euronext Dublin's Listing Rules and Rules 6.4.6 to 6.4.8 of the UK Listing Rules. The Group confirms that there are no other matters requiring disclosure under Rule 6.1.7 of Euronext Dublin's Listing Rules/Rule 6.4.8 of the UK Listing Rules.

For further information, please contact:

Hostelworld Group plc                                                      [e-mail]

Gary Morrison, Chief Executive Officer

Caroline Sherry, Chief Financial Officer

Sodali & Co                                                          [e-mail]

Eavan Gannon / Oliver Banks                           Tel: [phone]

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.

 

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