Hostelworld Group plc (LSE:HSW) said full-year net revenue for 2025 was €93.8m, up 2% year-on-year, with a marked step-up in the second half when generated revenue rose 7%; adjusted EBITDA was €19.9m, a 21% margin and "in line with market consensus," the company said.
Operational metrics showed modest volume and pricing gains: net bookings reached 7.0m (up 1%), Net Average Booking Value increased 2% to €13.43, and the Group's effective commission rate rose to 16.2% for the year (H2 effective commission 16.7% versus 15.4% in H2 2024). Full-year direct marketing costs were 48% of revenue, improving to 45% in H2 2025 (H2 2024: 48%), while operating costs remained stable at €25.8m or 27% of revenue.
The company emphasised product-led growth: its social community reached 3.4m members, messaging volumes grew 81% year-on-year, social members book roughly twice as frequently as non-members, and new initiatives — Elevate, Social Passes and a third‑party inventory rollout (3PI) — began contributing to monetisation in H2 and into 2026. Gary Morrison, Chief Executive Officer, said: "2025 was a year of two distinct halves for Hostelworld."
Hostelworld ended the year with €12.2m of cash and net debt of €1.6m, declared a total dividend of 2.40 € cent per share (final 1.58 € cent payable May 2026) and continued a £5m share buy-back programme, having repurchased £3.9m of shares to 31 December 2025, the filing said. The Group also completed the acquisition of OccasionGenius Inc for $12.0m, funded by a new €10.3m, 3‑year term loan.
Hostelworld Group plc is a social network‑powered online travel agent focused on hostels and budget accommodation, operating a platform that the company says connects travellers through chat, AI‑driven recommendations and event discovery.
