Across 2024, we embarked on the journey to develop a Culture Code that truly reflects who we are as a company. This wasn’t about producing ‘just another corporate document.’ We wanted to create a genuine, living reflection of our shared beliefs and values and the unique culture we’ve built together. We didn’t want to build a Code to sit on a shelf. We wanted it to speak directly to the people who make up our company, capturing the essence of who we are and who we strive to be.
Our mission is to help travellers find people to hang out with
We understand the power of travel; the joy to be found in broadening our horizons through experiencing new places and meeting new people. We understand that for many travellers the journey and the people met along the way are often more important than the destination.
It’s the same for our team. We deliver innovation while also enjoying how we deliver interesting things – our journey together matters!
When at work, we want our people to gain as much experience as possible, to learn and grow, to feel like they are part of something, and to make meaningful connections with others they meet along their way.
What makes us ‘us’
● We have a shared love of travel
Hostelworld was founded on a deep understanding of the opportunities that travel offers, and a passion to modernise the hostel category. That dedication is still with us to this day. 25 years in, we feel we’re at the early days of what’s possible in connecting travellers and inspiring adventurous minds through travel.
Central to this, at the heart of Hostelworld, are our people. Those who succeed here contribute to building and supporting an open, friendly, and fun culture.
● We combine a startup spirit with experience
We’ve learned through experience how to combine the best aspects of a startup culture, scrappiness and agility, with the discipline of maturity.
● We are scrappy
We thrive on a blend of startup energy and seasoned wisdom. Our agility allows us to embrace change, even when it feels a bit chaotic, and to respond quickly to the evolving needs of our travellers. We’re always listening and ready to pivot.
● We love data
Data guides everything we do. While intuition might spark an idea, it’s our dedication to data that drives our decisions and ensures our success. We believe in grounding every discussion and action in facts.
● We are resourceful
Resourcefulness is in our DNA. We are proud to be a relatively small company with big ambitions. We believe having smaller teams helps us to focus on what matters most, to build camaraderie, enable action and to keep us connected to our mission.
● We are intentional about where we invest
We invest strategically. Frugality isn’t just a policy; it’s a core value that allows us to focus our resources on what matters. We empower highly skilled, agile teams to deliver high-impact projects.
● We keep it simple
We like the simplicity that our size makes possible; we value knowing everyone’s name; we don’t want to feel like a small cog in a big machine.
● We do the right thing
Above all else we approach everything with decency. We care – we care about our people, our customers, our partners, and our planet. This shows through our approach to our people strategy, our sustainability commitments, and the way we work with our hostel partners and for our customers.
We share A LOT. The level of transparency here might feel rare to some. We gain trust by being open about our plans and our progress. We celebrate when things are on track, and we don’t hide from the numbers when we need to course-correct. Being agile doesn’t mean we compromise on quality. Doing the right thing means being dogged in our pursuit of excellence. We set the bar high and are very delivery focused; which means we expect a lot from each other so we can deliver on our commitments.
Lastly…the journey is never boring!
Our work is fast-paced and wide-ranging, offering both challenges and rewards. We thrive on adapting to change, and we recognise that the constant learning opportunities in this anything-but-routine environment are key to our engagement at work and our personal and professional growth.
