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Safestay plc

("Safestay", the "Company" or the "Group")

Safestay launches strategic partnership with Zostel, India's largest hostel network

Innovative marketing partnership model broadens the range of trusted hostels across Europe, the UK and India available to both Safestay and Zostel customers  

12 May 2026 - Safestay, one of Europe's largest hostel groups, today announces a strategic marketing partnership with Zostel, India's largest hostel network.

Whilst both brands will remain fully independent, under the agreement, 82 Zostel hostels will feature on Safestay.com and 24 Safestay hostels will be listed on Zostel.com, creating a hostel alliance spanning more than 8,000 beds across Europe, the UK and India.

The partnership comes as travel from India into Europe grew by 17% year-on-year in 2025, underlining the opportunity for hostel operators to capture demand from travellers planning multi-stop trips across Europe and the UK.[1]

The agreement reflects Safestay's strategy to expand its international reach and broaden its proposition to customers who want trusted, safe, great value hostel experiences. The partnership is also designed to capture growing demand from travellers increasingly combining Europe and India in a single trip, while creating stronger cross-referral opportunities and a potential route to more direct bookings over time. Safestay and Zostel also plan to develop a joint customer loyalty programme over the medium term.

The partnership is underpinned by a jointly agreed framework of minimum service standards and shared values, including guest safety and security,  in-room standards and guest support, fire safety,  equality policies, safeguarding and data protection.

Initial trial locations, including Safestay Pisa Centrale on Zostel's website and Safestay Goa Morjim by Zostel on Safestay's website, have been completed successfully. Around 20 hostels are expected to go live in the first phase within the next week, with additional properties then being added to both companies' websites in phases over the coming months. The full rollout is expected to be completed by June.

Larry Lipman, Chairman at Safestay, commented:

"This partnership with Zostel represents an exciting strategic development in extending Safestay's international reach through a scalable, capital-light model.

By aligning with a leading hostel operator in India with aligned values, we will access new customer segments and strengthen our position in key long-haul travel markets. We believe it is a strong commercial fit between two complementary hostel networks with a shared focus on quality, value, safety and guest experience."

Aviral Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of Zostel Ltd, said:

"We believe the best way to experience a destination is with the insight of a local friend. Through our partnership with Safestay, our community of nearly 3 million travellers will now have that across 22 European cities. In turn, Safestay's guests will gain access to more than 100 destinations across India, Nepal and Thailand through Zostel.

We see strong alignment between the two brands on quality, safety and guest experience, and we are excited to build on that together. This is about creating one global travel community, not just one global brand."

ENDS

Enquiries

For more information visit our:

Website www.safestay.com

Instagram page www.instagram.com/safestayhostels/

About Safestay PLC

Safestay PLC is one of Europe's largest hostel groups, operating in the fragmented and fast-growing global hostel market that is expected to be worth $8.9bn annually by 2027*.

Safestay's operational sites of 21 premium hostels and one hotel offer guests both private and shared rooms in destination cities across the UK, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Austria and Slovakia.

In 2025, the Group delivered 877,673 Total Bed Nights of which 32% were booked through direct and non-commissionable channels.

Safestay's mission at each of its locations is to provide a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable space that caters to the needs of different travellers. Its properties offer first-class locations and thoughtful designs that cater for the different needs of travellers, from digital nomads to backpackers and from families to group travellers. https://www.safestay.com/

 *Source - Markets and Research, August 2025

Safestay's pan-European locations include:

·    Kitzbühel Alpine, Austria

·    Kitzbühel Centre, Austria

·    Brussels Grand Place, Belgium

·    Prague Charles Bridge, Czeck Republic

·    Berlin Kurfurstendamm, Germany (hotel)

·    Athens Monastiraki, Greece

·    Naples, Italy

·    Pisa Centrale, Italy

·    Warsaw Old Town, Poland

·    Lisbon Bairro Alto, Portugal

·    Bratislava Presidential Palace, Slovakia

·    Barcelona Gothic, Spain

·    Barcelona Passeig de Gracia, Spain

·    Calpe Seafront, Spain (in development)

·    Córdoba Mezquita Catedral, Spain

·    Madrid Central, Spain

·    Glasgow Charing Cross, UK

·    Edinburgh Cowgate, UK

·    London Elephant & Castle, UK

·    London Kensington Holland Park, UK

·    York Micklegate, UK

·    Brighton, UK (in development)

About Zostel

Zostel is India's largest and most recognized hostel network, with 100+ properties across 100+ destinations in India, Nepal and Thailand. Operating under three brands, Zostel (backpacker hostels), Zostel Plus (boutique hostels) and Zostel Homes (homestays), the network has served over 5 million travellers since launch.

Founded in 2013, Zostel pioneered the branded hostel concept in India and operates on a franchise-led, asset-light model. Zostel is part of Zo World, a community-first travel ecosystem that brings together hostels, Zo Trips (curated group travel experiences) and a global traveller community.

https://www.zostel.com