Hostelworld has reported a strong start to this year as travel and tourism recovers from the blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company said it has seen a consistent recovery in weekly net bookings and revenues, as well as its direct margin, as reservations continue to edge towards 2019 levels.
However, it has also warned that the conflict in Ukraine has created new uncertainty and it is too soon to give definitive guidance for the year.
"Whilst our recent trading data would indicate that the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry is starting to recede, we, like many other businesses and industry sectors, face new uncertainties related to the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine," it said.
"Whilst it is difficult to predict what the mid to long term effects of these events might be in continental Europe or further afield, we are hopeful on a humanitarian level that there will be a swift and peaceful resolution of the conflict."
The comments came as it reported a loss in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €17.3m for 2021, similar to the previous year.
Net revenue came in at €16.9m, up 10% from the €15.4m on 2020.
In total it recorded full year net bookings of 1.5m, just 21% of volumes in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
The business saw around 200,000 cancellations of bookings worth €3.6m, a 43% decline year on year compared to 2020 when Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the industry.
However, the company added that the cancellation rate as a portion of revenue remains elevated versus normalised levels.
The arrival of the Omicron variant resulted in something of a setback in the final six weeks of trading.
The firm removed €7m in operating costs during the year and ended the period with €25.3m in cash.
"While 2021 was a challenging year both for Hostelworld and the global travel industry, I am pleased to say we saw a consistent recovery throughout the year in both bookings and revenue versus 2019, save for the last few weeks where we saw travel concerns over the Omicron variant," said Gary Morrison, Hostelworld's chief executive officer.
"I am also pleased to report that we made solid progress on all elements of our strategy during the year whilst continuing to significantly reduce our operating expenses versus 2020 levels."
