Trading Statement

The Board now expects FY 2026 revenue growth of approximately 10%, with adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of c. 20%, in line with our medium-term targets.

FY 2027 net revenue growth now expected to be mid-single digit reflecting current long-haul environment.

Q3 2026 performance: Revenue growth despite long-haul headwinds

Continued revenue and net average transaction value growth:

o Q3 2026 net revenue¹ of €27.9m (+7% YoY), with net average transaction value² of €15.3 (+11% YoY).

Record effective commission rate:

o Effective commission rate increased to 17.8% in Q3 2026 (Q3 2025: 16.3%), supported by the continued adoption of Elevate.

Middle East conflict dampened long-haul volumes:

o Net transactions3 of 1.6m, a decline of −2% YoY.

o Approximately 30% of our hostel bookings annually are on routes between Europe and Asia or Oceania. We estimate the conflict negatively impacted volumes by about four percentage points, with Asia and Oceania destinations most affected.

o The softness in long-haul demand has since extended beyond those routes, with higher travel costs and stronger destination currencies weighing particularly on demand between Europe and the Americas.

Strong app and social engagement:

o App bookings, our most profitable segment, accounted for 64% of net bed-nights (Q3 2025: 62%; FY 2025: 63%).

o Q3 unique chat users grew 37% and messages sent grew 77% YoY (H1 2026: +26% and +65%).

Strategic investment behind growing social member base:

o Direct marketing costs as a percentage of generated revenue4 totalled 48% in Q3 2026 (Q3 2025: 47%), down from 49% in H1 2026.

o Social members who joined the network on their first trip continue to be the largest, fastest growing and most profitable part of our business. Their net transactions5 grew 10% year-on-year in the quarter and now account for almost two-thirds of the Group's total transactions, while transactions from non-members declined. The social network remains the Group's key strategic differentiator.

EBITDA:

o Q3 2026 adjusted EBITDA of €8.3m (Q3 2025: €7.9m)

o Adjusted EBITDA margin of 30% (Q3 2025: 31%), reflecting continued investment in product and technology.

Year-to-date summary and guidance:

Double-digit revenue growth:

o Generated revenue4 has grown year-on-year in every week of 2026 to date.

o YTD net revenue of €80.1m (+10% YoY), with net transactions of 5.4m (flat YoY) and net average transaction value of €15.1 (+11% YoY).

o YTD effective commission rate of 17.7% (YTD 2025: 16.0%).

Marketing cost within guidance range:

o Direct marketing costs of 49% of generated revenue YTD (YTD 2025: 50%).

o Across the industry, organic web traffic declined during the year. The Group increased investment in paid channels, including paid social to grow its member base. We expect direct marketing to remain within the guidance range for the full year (FY 2025: 48%).

EBITDA:

o YTD adjusted EBITDA of €16.5m (YTD 2025: €15.4m), a margin of 21%.

Strong balance sheet:

o Closing cash position of €14.6m and net cash of €3.0m (30 September 2025: cash €10.9m, net cash €6.6m).

o An interim dividend of 0.83 euro cent per share was paid on 18 September 2026, following completion of a £5m share buyback in April 2026.

Strategic growth initiatives:

o Third-party budget accommodation and Social Passes continued to grow their contribution to net transactions.

o OccasionGenius event discovery was integrated across the platform in Q3 2026.

o In addition, both the social pass and events discovery strengthen the overall social travel proposition.

Guidance:

o With Asia and Oceania entering their seasonal peak in Q4, we now expect the Middle East conflict, together with the softer long-haul demand between Europe and the Americas, to continue to weigh on volumes for the remainder of the year and into 2027.

o The Board now expects to deliver FY 2026 revenue growth of approximately 10%, and an adjusted EBITDA⁶ in the range of €20.0m to €21.0m (FY 2025: €19.9m), representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of c. 20%.

o For FY 2027, as the benefit of Elevate on our commission rate annualises and assuming no recovery in long-haul volumes, the Board now expects net revenue growth in the mid-single digits.

o We will provide further updates to our 2027 growth plans, including our AI-enabled product roadmap, with the full year results.

Gary Morrison, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Revenue grew 7% in the third quarter and is up 10% year to date, despite the conflict in the Middle East weighing on transaction volumes. Year to date, Elevate lifted our effective commission rate to a record 17.7%, direct marketing was held within our guided range at 49% of generated revenue, and adjusted EBITDA was €16.5m.

Transaction volumes were 2% lower in the quarter. We estimate that underlying growth was circa 4%, the same as in the first half of the year. The conflict reduced our volume growth by approximately four percentage points, up from about three in the first half, concentrated on routes between Europe and Asia or Oceania. The balance arose in roughly equal measure from softer long-haul demand on routes between Europe and the Americas and from lower organic web traffic, across the industry, as AI answers more searches. Demand within Europe and from North America was broadly flat.

The platform continued to strengthen. Almost two-thirds of our bed-nights are now booked in the app, where the social network lives, and engagement accelerated, with chat users up 37% and messages up 77%. The higher commission rate funded increased investment in paid social to grow the member base. Paid social is a mid-funnel channel we did not use last year. AI now powers how the network matches travellers with each other and surfaces trending conversations. On our property pages, AI summarises travellers' reviews and answers travellers' property related questions directly. Social members continue to book more frequently and at materially higher margin than non-members, and our newer products are making a growing contribution to volumes."

MAR information

For the purposes of MAR and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, this announcement is being made on behalf of the Company by Caroline Sherry, Chief Financial Officer.

• Net average transaction value is generated revenue divided by net transactions.
• Net Transactions includes bookings paid via directly contracted inventory, 3rd party contracted inventory and Social Pass purchases.
• Generated revenue is gross revenue less cancellations and excludes impact of deferred revenue.
• Customers are classified by their social-network status at the end of their first trip and remain in that segment thereafter. Transactions in this measure are counted by trip end date, net of cancellations, across directly contracted inventory, third-party inventory and Social Passes, on the same basis as presented with the 2026 interim results. Net transactions elsewhere in this statement are counted by booking date.
• Company-compiled market consensus for FY 2026 adjusted EBITDA is €22.9m as at 07th October.

2026 Annual General Meeting Results Update

In accordance with Provision 4 of the UK Corporate Governance Code, Hostelworld provides the following update on Resolution 18, the authority to make political donations and incur political expenditure, which received more than 20% of votes cast against it at the Hostelworld AGM held on 6 May 2026.

Following the AGM, the Group engaged with shareholders who did not support the resolution in order to understand their views. Based on that engagement, the Board understands that the votes against the resolution principally reflected certain shareholders' general voting policies on political donations authorities, rather than concerns specific to the company.

Although the Board is satisfied that seeking the authority was an appropriate precautionary measure, it remains committed to maintaining an open and transparent dialogue with shareholders and, after carefully considering the feedback received, does not intend to propose a similar resolution at the 2027 Annual General Meeting.