(India’s largest hostel network partners with Safestay to bring 20+ European destinations within reach for its community of nearly 3 million travellers)
TTT NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI | 13 MAY 2026
Zostel, India’s largest hostel network, today announced a partnership with Safestay, one of Europe’s largest hostel groups, giving Zostel’s community of nearly 3 million travellers access to 24 properties across 20+ cities in Europe and the UK, directly through Zostel.com.
Under the agreement, 24 hostels will be listed on Zostel.com, while 82 Zostel properties will feature on safestay.com, together covering more than 8,000 beds across Europe, the UK, India, Nepal and Thailand. Both brands will continue to operate independently.
The move comes as India-to-Europe travel grew 17% year-on-year in 2025, with a growing segment of Indian travellers combining Europe and India within a single trip. The partnership is designed to make multi-stop international travel easier to plan and book, without relying on third-party aggregators.
Around 20 properties are expected to go live in the first phase within the coming week, with the full rollout expected to be completed by June 2026.
The partnership is underpinned by a shared framework of minimum service standards covering guest safety and security, in-room standards, fire safety, equality policies, safeguarding and data protection.
Aviral Gupta,CEO at Zostel and Zo World, added:”We believe the best way to travel anywhere is to have a local friend. With Safestay, that’s what our community of nearly 3 million travellers now has across 22 European cities. Zostel unlocks 100+ destinations across India, Nepal and Thailand. We see strong alignment between the two brands on quality, safety and guest experience, and are excited to build on this together. One global community, not just one global brand.”
Larry Lipman, Managing Director 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.”
With access to Safestay’s network across Europe, the partnership is expected to drive 40-50% growth in international bookings for Zostel over the next 12 months. The cross-listing model is projected to add INR 8-10 crore in incremental revenue by 27’, while reducing dependence on OTA commissions through stronger direct booking volumes.
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