Hostelworld has been cashing in on commission from hostels wanting to bump up their listings, despite the Middle East conflict dampening interest in long-haul trips.
The company, which is a platform for hostels around the world, said revenues totalled 52.2 million euros (£44.5 million) for the six months to the end of June, up 12% on the year before.
Total bookings rose by 1% to 3.8 million, meaning sales growth was driven by the value of each payment rather than the volume.
Hostelworld said the rise was partly led by its new marketplace monetisation tool, named Elevate, which lifted its effective commission rate to 17.7% from 15.8% a year earlier.
The feature means hostels can pay a bigger fee to have their property listed higher up in search results.
Hostelworld gets paid by businesses that want their properties listed on the platform and bookings arranged through the site.
They also benefit from a chatroom app which connects people who have booked into hostels in the same area.
The higher commission helped offset a hit to bookings linked to the Iran war.
Gary Morrison, Hostelworld’s chief executive, said the impact of the conflict “intensified” between April and June, putting some people off booking long-haul trips particularly to Asia and Oceania.
The group estimated that it reduced bookings growth by about 3% over the first half of the year.
“Demand in Europe and North America was more resilient,” Mr Morrison added.
“Our full-year guidance assumes that the disruption associated with the Middle East conflict eases through the second half and broader trading conditions normalise.”
