Hostelworld builds on 'strong start' to FY

(Sharecast News) - Accommodation booking platform operator Hostelworld said on Tuesday that it had built on "the strong start" it had previously reported earlier in the year, with net bookings reaching 80% of 2019 levels in June and net revenues hitting 104% of 2019 levels, driven by higher average booking values. Hostelworld stated it has seen its recovery continue across all destinations and demand segments. In particular, booking demand into Europe, its largest destination in 2019, remained "strong", with its top markets in Southern Europe exceeding 2019 levels.

The London-listed group also said it has seen booking momentum "slowly returning" in Oceania and Asian destinations from "a very low level" in January, with booking demand in June at 43% of 2019 levels.

Finally, long-haul bookings reached 75% of 2019 levels in June, with trips from the US and Canada into European destinations above 2019 levels.

Chief executive Gary Morrison said: "I am encouraged by the positive indicators we report today across all of our key market segments which demonstrate the ability of our business model to capture pent-up customer demand as the travel market returns.

"Despite macro-economic uncertainties and recent disruption to airline schedules, I am very confident that we are well positioned to continue to capitalise on the travel recovery as we enter our key seasonal summer trading period."

As of 0915 BST, Hostelworld shares were up 2.06% at 93.90p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com