a&o Hostels Acquires Schulz Hotels as Part of €500 Million Growth Strategy

a&o’s first platform investment under its €500M program adds the 1,000-bed Schulz Berlin hotel, which will keep its brand. Schulz founders Nizar Rokbani, Oskar Kan, and Sascha Gechter remain in management as a&o explores brand expansion.

 

December 9, 2025 – a&o Hostels (“a&o), Europe’s largest and fastest-growing hostel chain with 30,000 beds under management has acquired Berlin-based Schulz Hotels (“Schulz”).  

 

The acquisition will support a&o’s growth strategy in its core markets and enable it to further diversify its offering as it looks to accelerate its pan-European growth ambitions. a&o seeks to continue capitalising on the compelling demographic tailwinds driving the rapid growth of what has become an increasingly institutional-quality asset class. Underpinned by increasing inbound tourism, a rise in budget-conscious travellers and technological advancements, the European Hostels Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2025 to 20301. 

 

The founders of Schulz – Nizar Rokbani, Oskar Kan and Sacha Gechter – are joining the a&o management and advisory team as it plans a brand and offering expansion.  The trio previously founded Meininger, a pan-european hotel / hostel hybrid company which now operates over 20,000 beds.    

 

a&o has been successfully executing on its growth strategy to bring its budget friendly offering targeting families, school groups and backpackers to more European cities by acquiring 8,500 beds, both operational and being developed / refurbished, over the past 24 months. 

 

Schulz Hotels is a premium, design led budget option with an elevated amenity and F&B offering that caters to the traditional hostel customer as well as more discerning business and individual travellers. It currently operates as a single, 1000-bed hotel at Berlin’s Ostbahnhof, with another in the planning stage in Berlin’s new Heide Quarter, close to the main train station.  

 

Founded in 2000 by Oliver Winter, a&o is now one of the largest budget hostel chains in the world. 2024 saw a&o Hostels welcome a record 2.8 million guests and 6.2 million overnight stays. This momentum was sustained in the first half of 2025, with a&o recording 1.4 million guests, 3.1 million overnight stays, and an occupancy rate of 73 percent. 

 

StepStone Group and Proprium Capital Partners sponsored the management led acquisition of a&o at the end of 2023 and together they have invested circa €500 million into the platform’s expansion over the last 18 months.  As well as Schulz Hotels, other acquisitions have included assets in the London, Brighton, Brussels, Antwerp, and Heidelberg, while a near term pipeline of further transactions in other leading European cities continues to be progressed.  

 

Oliver Winter, founder and CEO of a&o Hostels said: “The combined know-how of a&o and Schulz amounts to 100 years of hostel expertise – the perfect prerequisite for further dynamic and creative growth in prime locations in European cities.  

 

“Since 2024 we have deployed circa €500 million scaling the a&o Hostels platform and leveraging the team’s unrivalled real estate, investment and hostels experience. With a supportive investor base, and ongoing market dislocation presenting attractive investment opportunities, we are well placed to maintain this momentum in a rapidly maturing sector benefitting from compelling demographic and technological tailwinds.” 

 

Sascha Gechter, Co-Founder of Meininger and Schulz, added: “We are delighted to join forces with a&o and take the expansion of Schulz Hotels to the next level. Our partnership is complementary – we share values, target groups, and ambitions. Enormous synergies are emerging in purchasing, sales, and technology, from which both brands will benefit.”

 

Philipp Westermann, Partner at Proprium Capital Partners, said: “a&o Hostels’ acquisition of Schulz Hotels marks the latest milestone in our drive for strategic growth across key European markets. Joining forces with the Schulz founders, who we have known for over a decade, will allow us to redefine what affordable travel can be.” 

About a&o Hostels

Founded in 2000 by Oliver Winter, a&o Hostels currently operates 44 properties with around 30,000 beds in 29 cities across 10 European countries. A further two properties are set to open in the near future. The a&o Hostels guest mix is diverse, welcoming backpackers, solo travellers, families, school groups, and associations. The number of business travellers and senior guests is also increasing. In 2024, a&o Hostels achieved a record company performance, surpassing the record set in the previous year. Demonstrating strong year-on- year-growth, a&o recorded 6.2 million overnight stays (2023: 6.1 million), 2.8 million guests (2023: 2.7 million), and £192.7 million in revenue (2023: £179.9 million). 

For more information, visit www.aohostels.com 

 

About Schulz

Founded in 2018 in Berlin by Meininger founders Nizar Rokbani, Oskar Kan, and Sascha Gechter, Schulz Hotels represents the Premium Budget segment: design, comfort, and quality for cost-conscious travelers. With one property currently open at Ostbahnhof and another under construction, Schulz is pursuing a clear growth strategy in major European cities. The founders bring decades of experience in the international hostel and hotel market – and, together with a&o, are now shaping the next stage in the evolution of European budget hospitality. 

 

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of September 30, 2025, StepStone was responsible for approximately $771 billion of total capital, including $209 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes. 

For more information, visit StepStone Group. 

 

About Proprium Capital Partners

Proprium Capital Partners, part of L&G, is an established real estate focused principal investing firm that strategically invests in proven real estate strategies, prioritizing those with potential for growth and scalability, as well as special situations.   

A spin out of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations team, Proprium’s senior management team has worked together for over 20 years investing in real estate operating companies, focusing on scalable themes with experienced local partners and platforms. In 2025, L&G acquired a 75% equity stake in Proprium to accelerate growth at a time of immense opportunity in the global real estate market, bringing forward new opportunities for investors.  

Proprium’s strategy of platform investing seeks to deliver private equity returns in the real estate industry. Proprium manages funds on behalf of institutional investors across the globe, including government and private sector pension and retirement funds, family offices and sovereign wealth funds.   

Today, Proprium has grown to $3.3 billion* of net assets under management with a global platform of six offices across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific.   

Further information can be found at www.proprium.com  

*As of June 30, 2025