2024 Chairman’s Statement

Our social strategy, launched in 2022, has proven to be a key differentiator for Hostelworld, driving customer engagement and contributing to a lower cost of customer acquisition and increased customer lifetime value. During 2024 we remained focused on expanding our active customer base and enhancing engagement with our customers through our social network, developing and launching product features which improved their travel experiences.

We continued to enrich the social core of our platform by expanding profile information to enable customers to create more personalised experiences and introducing a hangout status and enhanced chat functionality to improve interaction quality and quantity. Building on this momentum, we continue to augment and refine our platform’s social features to offer more personalisation and opportunities for genuine community and connection.

As we look to the future, we are fully committed to growing the company. Our strategy is focused on connecting travellers, driving sustainable growth, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. Within this framework, the Board is confident there are many avenues for growth available to us; expanding our social features, monetising our traffic and expanding our inventory to meet our customer needs. We will provide a detailed update on our strategy as part of our Capital Markets Day being held on 29 April 2025.

Since joining the Board, I have had the opportunity to engage with the executive team on multiple occasions throughout the year and I am extremely impressed with the quality and dedication that I saw. Central to Hostelworld’s continued success is the unwavering dedication, hard work, and commitment of our people. We are fortunate to attract and retain talented and committed employees from a diversity of backgrounds in all areas of the business.

In 2024, Hostelworld celebrated its 25th anniversary and this milestone occasion was marked by bringing the Company together in Dublin to celebrate 25 years of connecting travellers and launch a new Culture Code that supports the vibrant culture at Hostelworld. The Culture Code, developed collaboratively across the organisation, was created to define, and reflect the shared beliefs and values of the Hostelworld team that promotes equality and dignity at work and ensures everyone feels they belong.

Our principal objective is to deliver growth and long-term sustainable value for our shareholders while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

The cash generative nature of the business allowed for the repayment, in June 2024, of the remaining bank borrowings, in full and two-years ahead of schedule. At the end of 2024, the business had returned to a net cash position of €2.0m (2023: net debt €12.3m). We continue to hold an interest-free warehoused debt facility with the Irish Revenue Commissioners with whom we have agreed a repayment plan. We made an initial instalment in May 2024 of 15% of the outstanding facility and will make monthly payments of the remaining balance over a three-year period until April 2027.

We are now focused on ensuring our capital is efficiently spent to grow the company. Having said that the Board is aware of the importance of also returning capital to shareholders and assessing capital allocation was again a key issue considered by the Board during the second half of 2024. Following detailed consideration of the issue, which involved assessing the differing views of shareholders whom I met following my appointment as Chairman in October 2024, the Board decided that the payment of dividends would not currently be in the best interests of the business. Accordingly, the Company will not be paying a dividend in respect to the 2024 financial year. A thorough overview of capital allocation plans will be provided at our Capital Markets Day on 29 April 2025.

While our strategy obviously includes running a profitable growing business that our people enjoy working for, within that we recognise and prioritise the importance of minimising our environmental impact and promoting responsible travel.

Accompanying targets previously set for scope 1 and 2 emissions that we control, in 2024 we went further, by setting a target to reduce our scope 3 emissions arising through our value chain. We were awarded the ‘Taking Climate Action’ silver label by South Pole, a leading climate solutions partner, for the fourth consecutive year in recognition of our commitment to reducing and controlling our emissions.

Our bespoke ‘Staircase to Sustainability’ framework which helps hostels assess and communicate their sustainability credentials to customers in a transparent way, has grown significantly in its first year with over 2,100 GSTC accredited properties. These accredited hostels have seen an increase in customer demand, with customers preferring to choose the more sustainable accommodation option. We also marketed and published a new series of hostel sustainability content stories in 2024 to highlight some of the incredible work being completed by our hostel partners in this vital area. We made sustainability a central theme at our annual ‘HOSCARs’ awards event for hostel partners, celebrating the best-in-class hostels who had made significant progress on their sustainability journeys.

Paul Duffy joined the Board as Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee and member and Chair of the Remuneration Committee on 2 May 2024. Paul is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with extensive knowledge of the consumer industry and brings significant strategic and brand experience, having served previously as Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America. Paul is currently a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair, Remuneration Committee member and Development Committee member of Glanbia, plc. Carl G. Shepherd (Senior Independent Director) stepped down as Chair of the Remuneration Committee (but continues as a member of the Remuneration Committee) on the same date. I look forward to Paul making a significant contribution to the Board in the years ahead.