Hostel group a&o continues to grow its presence across Europe, as a major player in the hybrid accommodation space, and in the first half of 2025 enjoyed record revenues.
Revenues for the half year added up to EUR116 million, up from EHR110 million in 2024. The group welcomed 1.4 million guests across its hostel thresholds, who between them booked 3.1 million room nights.
Customers are demanding value
However, there was some evidence of a slowdown in consumer confidence, noted the company’s founder, and CEO, Oliver Winter. “We are clearly feeling the reluctance of some guests when it comes to room prices in the first half of the year, however room occupancy remains stable, with a slight decline in rates.”
Occupancy was slightly down, year on year, at 73% against 74.8% in the first half of 2024. But the numbers have been improving through the year, averaging just under 80% occupancy from April to June. And the company expects its summer peak to be near 90%.
a&o lays claim to being Europe’s largest privately owned hostel business, and today has 43 properties, in 30 cities across Europe. The portfolio provides accommodation in ten different countries, welcoming everyone from school and college groups, to travellers on a budget.
The company reported its busiest hostels in Germany were in Berlin Mitte, Hamburg City and Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Internationally, hostels in Prague, Vienna and Venice were most in demand. The top three source markets for guests were Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
The latest additions to the portfolio have been the a&o Hostel Firenze Campo di Marte, which launched in February 2025, plus a&o Hostel Milano Ca Granda – also in Italy. The company expects to open two more hostels in the second half of 2025.
The a&o team have previously stated that their wishlist for future hostel locations includes major cities including London, Manchester, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon. To help speed up their growth, they are prepared to be flexible, looking at options including conversion, leasing, new build or acquisition.
An active campaign to find more sites
Looking further ahead, construction is under way at another German site, a&o Heidelberg. The 118 room, five storey property will be ready to open in late 2026. The business, backed by investors StepStone Group and Proprium Capital Partners, plans to make further investments in growth, and is actively searching for more sites.
While last year’s summer occupancy was boosted by a number of one-off events, the company has refocused this year on its family traveller audience. A 20% family discount has been introduced through the summer, while member rates are available to those who join the a&o Club, which now has close to 300,000 members. We are the European brand for the price conscious traveller and that won’t change”, said Winter.
