Corporate Development Corporate Development

Corporate Development

Company name: a&o Hostels GmbH Co. KG
Partner: TPG Real Estate (majority shareholder since 2017)
CEO: Oliver Winter (founder and CEO)

Portfolio

Europe's largest hostel provider at 39 locations in 23 cities across eight countries (Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Poland and Hungary) offering approximately 24,000 beds

Growth

Annual growth of more than 15 percent - Continuous growth target of at least two new establishments per year.

Openings in 2020

- Opening of a&o Copenhagen Sydhavn (Denmark) in 2020

- Opening of a&o Budapest in September 2020

 

Revenue

Revenue of approximately €117 million in 2017 with around 24,000 beds and more than 4.1 million overnight stays.

Concept

Everyone can travel with a&o! The budget brand a&o always provides hotel accommodation at central locations that are easy to reach and offer unbeatable value for money to guests. a&o focuses on a wide range of en-suite room categories to ensure that target groups with a love of travel can all be accommodated under one roof, including single travellers, couples, families and large groups. a&o has a simple motto: Every guest gets exactly what they need without unnecessary frills. The boundary between hostel and hotel is directly intertwined in the a&Oo establishments, providing accommodation for any budget.

Special services for guests

  • a&o offers free, dependable WiFi
  • Children under 7 can sleep free of charge in bunk beds in the family room of their parents or grandparents
  • Bespoke loyalty programmes for various target groups, e.g. Regular Customer Cards or Trainer Cards

Permanent development of the product:

  • Brand relaunch in late autumn 2017
  • Plans for mobile check-in
  • Plans for smartphone room keys
  • Plans for laptop docking stations and single work spaces in the lobby

Guests and reasons for travel:

 

  • Leisure/city tourism (40 percent)
  • Group/school trips (37 percent; around 19,600 school and group trips per year)
  • Families (15 percent)
  • Business trips (8 percent)

a&o is particularly strong in direct sales and online marketing

  • 52 percent of guests book their accommodation online
  • aohostels.com is the strongest booking channel
  • Best price guarantee for direct bookings via aohostels.com
  • Group bookings are possible in real time and without restrictions
  • Group payment options without a single person footing the bill up front

Careers

a&o has its own academy and a dual degree course programme to offer its staff a range of attractive career options. The company is particularly open to taking on newcomers.

Certifications

  • 5-star QMJ certification for all a&o establishments
  • Enterprise-wide TÜV certification according to the Youth Hostel Quality Standard
  • Youth travel quality seal by Reisenetz Youth Travel in Germany
  • TREUGAST Solutions Group double-A rating awarded to the a&o Group for the third year running

Sustainability

a&o has defined three pillars of sustainability. They are the central components of the company's strategic focus and operative business:

Economic sustainability

a&o uses its own resources to grow. Profits are channelled straight back into the company to open up new establishments, create jobs and modernise the current portfolio. Here, a&o continues to focus on stable growth in European city tourism and has introduced uniform standards in the areas of environmental compatibility, cooperation, customer feedback among others.

Environmental sustainability

The initiatives that a&o has introduced in all establishments include the introduction of energy and water-saving products, efficient cleaning, reduction in waste volumes and the removal of unnecessary paper and plastic advertising from all rooms. What's more, guests are invited to exchange their reading materials for second hand books in the Book Swap Libraries in the lobbies. The bike rental service in many hotels and the close proximity to public transport systems also ensure a low carbon footprint. a&o was the first German hotel chain to complete a CO2 emission check: The average carbon footprint at a&o is 8.8 kg of CO2 per overnight stay. Efficient use of space in the establishments and other factors keep the footprint three times lower than those otherwise recorded at two to three-star hotels.

Social sustainability

An important element in the a&o corporate philosophy is to promote the interests of its staff. The company's steady growth means that a&o can offer a position to almost all of its apprentices and continue to invest in their training after graduation. In addition, a&o has a profit-sharing scheme and is the only hostel chain to run its own academy.

Sponsoring

a&o is a committed sponsor of sport and education, including:

  • SOS Children's Villages (since 2004)
  • Youth Sports Department at 1 FC Union Berlin (since 2010)
  • Youth Sports Department at SK Sturm Graz (since 2014)
  • The "Energiesparmeister" energy-saving competition
  • "Bundes-Schülerfirmen" student company contest
  • "Berliner Klima Schulen" climate change competition
  • SOS Children's Village Occupational Training Centre Berlin Moabit
 

The Development

The a&o hostels are currently available in the following cities:

 
Location

2000

a&o Berlin Friedrichshain
a&o HOTEL AND HOSTEL Service GmbH Catering,
F&B Einkauf, Barbetrieb für a&o Catering

Location

2002

a&o Berlin Zoo

Location

2004

a&o Berlin Mitte

Location

2005

a&o Prag Holesovice (Franchise)
a&o München Hauptbahnhof
a&o Hamburg Hammer Kirche

Location

2006

a&o München Hackerbrücke

Location

2007

a&o Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
a&o Dresden Hauptbahnhof

Location

2008

a&o Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
a&o Wien Stadthalle

Location

2009

a&a Hamburg Reeperbahn
a&o Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
a&o Köln Neumarkt

Location

2010

a&o Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Location

2011

a&o Köln Dom
a&o Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof
a&o Dortmund Hauptbahnhof

Location

2012

a&o Hamburg City
a&o Prague Metro Strizkov
a&o Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof

Location

2013

a&o Frankfurt Galluswarte (Messe)
a&o Graz Hauptbahnhof
a&o Wien Hauptbahnhof

Location

2014

a&o Aachen Hauptbahnhof
a&o Weimar
a&o München Laim

Location

2015

a&o Amsterdam Zuidoost
a&o Stuttgart City
a&o Berlin Kolumbus

Location

2016

a&o Köln Hauptbahnhof
a&o Prague Rhea
a&o Salzburg Hauptbahnhof

Location

2017

a&o Copenhagen Nørrebro
a&o Bremen Hauptbahnhof
a&o Venice Mestre

Location

2018

a&o Frankfurt Ostend
a&o Prag Rhea(renoviert)

Location

2019

a&o Warschau Wola
a&o Budapest
a&o Kopenhagen Sydhavn