a&o Hostels Takes Home TikTok’s 2025 “Greatest Performance” Award — What Travel Advisors Can Learn

A standout Gen Z campaign generates 30M impressions, a 10% traffic boost, and 1.6M new contacts — all on just €35,000.

 

As short-form video continues to reshape how young travelers discover destinations and brands, a&o Hostels just delivered a masterclass in digital marketing — and walked away with TikTok’s 2025 Greatest Performance Award for it.

 

For travel advisors looking to reach next-gen travelers or understand how social-first brands are winning attention, the success of a&o’s “Where to Go 2025” campaign offers valuable takeaways.

 

Campaign Results That Matter

a&o’s award-winning effort delivered:

• 30 million impressions

• 10% increase in direct website traffic

• 1.6 million first-time brand contacts

• €35,000 budget

These results highlight how targeted, culturally aware content can generate massive reach — even without major spend.

 

A Campaign Built for Gen Z

At the center of the campaign was an original song titled “Where to Go.”
According to CMO Phillip Winter, the audio element was essential to tapping into Gen Z’s behavior:

 

“We managed to immerse ourselves directly in Gen Z culture — original, creative content isn’t just inspiring, it delivers measurable results.”

 

By building content around a catchy, platform-native soundtrack, a&o created an instantly recognizable hook that encouraged shares, remixes, and community engagement.

 

Why This Matters for Travel Advisors

Travel advisors increasingly rely on younger audiences discovering destinations and travel experiences through platforms like TikTok. a&o’s win highlights key shifts you can leverage:

 

1. Audio-led content drives visibility

Original sounds — or choosing trending ones — can ignite reach and make travel tips or property highlights more discoverable.

 

2. Gen Z responds to authenticity

The campaign wasn’t polished luxury content; it was real, fast, fun, and platform-native. Advisors promoting destinations, hotels, or deals can adopt the same tone.

 

3. Small budgets can outperform big ones

With strategic creativity, a modest investment can outperform traditional advertising — especially when content aligns with platform culture.

 

4. Social-first campaigns build awareness faster

1.6 million first-time touchpoints show that younger travelers want to discover brands on TikTok long before visiting a website or booking platform.

 

Industry Recognition

TikTok’s jury praised a&o for its strategic approach and deep understanding of platform mechanics — a reminder that successful travel marketing today requires both creativity and algorithm awareness.

 

The TikTok Awards honor brands whose “creative and community-focused campaigns achieve strong and measurable results,” placing a&o’s efforts firmly among the most effective of the year.

 

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 11 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.