Revenues plunge 69% at Hostelworld due to Covid restrictions

Revenues fell 69 per cent to €12 million at Hostelworld during the first six months of the year due to Covid-19-led travel restrictions.

The hotel booking group said net bookings fell 67 per cent during the period leading to a pretax loss of €18.8 million. Net average booking value totalled €9.45 as against €12.40 a year earlier on the back of increased cancellations.

"We entered the year in a strong position having delivered a return to net bookings growth during the fourth quarter of 2019. However, Covid-19 drove a sharp reduction in our trading performance. We reacted swiftly and purposefully to protect the business, and to enable us to navigate through this crisis," said chief executive Gary Morrison.

“While the short-term outlook for the travel industry remains extremely challenging, I remain confident that Hostelworld will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis stronger than before.”

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Hostelworld raised £13.8 million (€15.2m) in June after selling new shares in the company as it said it expected net revenues to fall by about 80 per cent this year.

The company said on Wednesday it had seen an uptick in demand in recent weeks as travel restrictions have eased around the world and it is trading slightly ahead of its forecasts.

"This recovery started with very modest growth in domestic bookings in June, and more recently has progressed to very modest growth in domestic and short-haul bookings into Europe, " the company said.

"Overall we expect the pace of recovery to mirror changes in travel guidance in individual markets over the coming months, both positive and negative. Elsewhere, source markets in the Americas, Asia and Oceania continue to remain very depressed."

Hostelworld forecasts continued improvement in the second half of the year, although bookings would remain at “significantly reduced levels” when compared to 2019.

The company said given continued market uncertainty it was not in a position to provide full-year guidance.