TIDMHSW
Hostelworld Group PLC
05 April 2022
Hostelworld Group launches 'The Solo System', a set of social
features enabling opt-in travellers to connect and meet in real
life
Inspired by its inherently social user base, the company's
category-defining mobile app now powers meaningful social
interactions across every step of the booking and travel
journey
- 76% rate 'meeting people' as their top deciding factor when
booking a hostel, and 77% look for other travellers to do
activities with on trips
- Opt-in customers who've booked the same destination and hostel
can now interact with other travellers through 'Chat', a social
feature available within Hostelworld's new native app
- Users can 'See Who's Going' to be in a city and hostel when searching on the platform
COPENHAGEN, 05 APRIL 2022: Hostelworld Group, the leading
platform for hostel travel, today announces 'The Solo System', a
set of social features enabling travellers to interact and connect
with like-minded people. Users searching on Hostelworld can now
find trending places with the 'See Who's Going' feature, and once a
booking is made, they'll be able to 'Chat' to people visiting the
same locations and view their 'Traveller Profiles'.
76% of Hostelworld's customers crave a social hostelling
experience, but 30% say they are nervous about chatting to other
people in hostels. Hostelworld has released a new native app with a
'Chat' functionality inspiring conversations and real life meet ups
between travellers visiting the same cities and hostels, around the
same time. Opt-in users will be given access to hostel chats, city
chats and interest-based chats up to 14 days before their check-in
date - they will also be able to send a direct message to other
travellers, provided this has been enabled by users. The app is
available in iOS now, with Android launching mid-April.
For solo travellers, who make an average of 10 new friends
during a one-month trip, hostelling is all about the vibes. With
the 'See Who's Going' feature, identifying trending places from the
point of search will be easy. Both on the website and app, this
feature shows prospective bookers how many people are going to be
in a city (and hostel) around the same dates, including their
nationalities.
Gary Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Hostelworld Group,
said the company is perfectly positioned to help hostellers meet
people to hang out with while travelling. "We've always known that
our customers choose to stay in hostels as a means to meet other
people. By powering social connections through our platform before
our customers even get to their destination, we are giving them an
incredibly compelling reason to book with Hostelworld. We will
continue to launch more social products in coming months including
LinkUps, a feature that encourages travellers to create gatherings
and social activities."
Hostelworld has also added personalisation within its '
Travellers' Profiles', which now offer the ability to display a
profile photo, first name, nationality and where users have
travelled. Only after customers have made a booking can they see
other travellers' profile information.
With a majority (83%) audience share solo travelling at least
one, and 24% taking 10+ solo trips, Hostelworld is launching its
new social platform to customers as The Solo System. Designed 'For
Solo Travellers and Beyond', this has been created to enhance the
online experience, but only with the intention of encouraging real
life meet ups and friendships.
The Solo System experience includes:
- 'See Who's Going' - check out who else is visiting a city and
hostel on the dates you're searching, available on app and web
- 'Chat' - chat via the app to other travellers staying in the
same hostel (and city) up to two weeks before your check-in date,
and three days after you've checked-out
- 'Public Profiles' - see who other users are and where they've
been, and chat to them via direct messages if they have enabled
it
- 'LinkUps' (coming soon) - see what events and activities
fellow travellers are planning and book in or create your own.
Watch this space!
To participate in chats and social activity, all customers
who've opted in need to keep their profile public and agree to
abide by Hostelworld's community guidelines. Users must be 18 years
or over to use 'Chat'.
Notes to editors:
Research conducted between 10 and 17 March, polling 3700
Hostelworld users.
Contact:
For more information, please contact:
presshw@hostelworld.com
About Hostelworld Group
Hostelworld Group is the leading Online Travel Agent focused on
the hostelling category, with a well-known trusted brand, 13.7M
reviews and a loyal customer base built up over 22 years. Our core
business provides our customers with hostel accommodation options
in over 180 countries worldwide via our website and native app
platforms in 19 languages, as well as hostel focused small group
adventure trips ( Roamies ).
In parallel to helping millions of hostel focused travellers
Meet The World, we are committed to building a better world in
everything we do. In 2020 we became the first OTA signatory of the
Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI), led by the UN
Environment Programme and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO);
and latterly became a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism
Council (GSTC) in January 2022.
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