Online Travel Agency (OTA) in Dublin HostelWorld Group Learn more about its social strategies at Capital Markets Day in London this week.
In his speech, CEO Gary Morrison stressed the importance of social networking and helped travelers to connect, especially due to the young client base of the hotel world. Last week, OTA expanded Social Strategylaunch its “Global Travel Planning Market” to help travelers connect before travelling.
According to Morrison, the solution requires users to create social profiles when downloading hotel apps. This may include travel plans, dates or information about the person they want to meet while providing them with the opportunity to add photos and videos. The user can then scroll through other people’s profiles to connect and chat.
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Morrison said in the third quarter of this year that the company will collect proprietary data from this feature to integrate into its artificial intelligence (AI) power classification platform. The platform will then “match” like-minded travelers who may be interested in meeting at a given destination. Its AI-powered chat feature will also provide guidance for popular experiences.
“If you consider marketing channels, you will have research, consider, [which] Then it becomes the booking,” Morrison said. “We created a product that works on the funnel now, so we are able to create value ahead of time in the research and booking phase before you even make a booking. ”
Using data from the historical chat interaction, it can also match travelers to relevant groups and recommend events, bars and destinations. When asked about the benefits of HostelWorld’s hotel partners, Morrison said that this would add value by adding bookings.
“We are at the beginning of a very exciting journey. We are starting to build data products, not network products, and there are a long runway in front of us.”
A growing social network
Morrison said Hostelworld is continuing to build its existing social member base and then build a unique “customer proof” network.
“They are better than any ad we can create because they are real and they are made by real customers.”
To power flywheels for social media, HostelWorld will tag new posts that include their hashtags, send automatic requests to license content and repost in its own social feed. Morrison said the company will also work with influencers to create new content, and the “best” influencers may be attracted from the hotel world’s own customer base.
Morisson said in the short term that the initiative will account for a “low, unit percentage” of its spending and invest in the next six to 12 months.
“But in the long run, these are clearly the channels and networks where our customers live, and these channels and networks will be more beneficial than some of the paid channels we currently use,” he said.
Another way Hostelworld hopes to grow is to expand its hotel presence, especially its local presence in Latin America and Asia, and to enhance the platform to make hotels more flexible.
Improve numbers
The company also recently reported revenue for 2024. Net income for that year was 92 million euros, slightly lower than 93.3 million euros in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA is higher, however, the previous year’s EBITDA was 21.8 million euros. HostelWorld reported 6.9 million net bookings, an increase from 6.5 million in 2023. Last year, 80% of the bookings were made by members of the society, up from 67% in 2023.
The OTA also repaid 17.5 million euros to the AIB in June 2024, two years ahead of schedule.
“In 2024, we achieved growth in recorded booking performance-driven net bookings in Asia and Central America. This is due to the reduction in average booking value due to the shift of consumer demand to lower cost destinations,” Morrison said in the report.
“Our social strategy continues to drive engagement while increasing efficiency, reducing marketing costs to a percentage of revenue generated, and promoting overall growth in profitability.”
This year, HostelWorld is targeting unit and unit revenue growth, and in 2026 and 2027, it aims to have low double-digit growth.
