Skift Take
The attractions booking sector is TripAdvisor's to lose, especially given its recent success. But unless it pushes faster on mobile innovation, rivals like GetYourGuide and Klook might overtake the company.
History is written by the acquirers. And TripAdvisor has been telling an ever more upbeat story about its attractions business since 2014 when it bought tours and activities booking leader Viator for $200 million.
TripAdvisor says its absorption of Viator has gone well. The division grew with a "positive margin," according to the company, in the past year.
In the third quarter of 2017, the non-hotel side revenue of TripAdvisor's business — which includes bookings of restaurants, vacation rentals, and tours and activities — was up 26 percent to $126 million versus a year earlier. TripAdvisor doesn't break out the financials of its tours and activities business, but company spokespeople said transactions sourced from TripAdvisor and Viator were double that of a year earlier.
Attractions are the fastest-growing part of that non-hotel revenue, the company said.
That's welcome news for the Needham, Massachusetts-based TripAdvisor, where recent quarterly earnings reports raised questions about the growth prospects of its core business in hotels. Last week those questions partly led to a reorganization of its business units and their leadership.
CEO Steve Kaufer has repeatedly said he expects the attractions division will become the company's "next multi-billion-dollar business."
This week, as TripAdvisor Attractions holds an internal 2018 kick-off meeting, it has reasons to bullish about its attractions business. On Thursday, the company told us that it now has more than 80,000 bookable products. That total is more than twice as much inventory as its next-largest rivals, GetYourGuide and Klook, and more than six times Viator's listings at the time of TripAdvisor's acquisition.
But contrary to that narrative, some observers feel that TripAdvisor — unless it adjusts its strategy — could risk ceding its lead to rivals. And a look back at TripAdvisor Attractions suggests what can go spectacularly right — and potentially wrong — when a large online travel company acquires a smaller one.
Rivals making gains
Late last year, the two largest rival consumer booking companies received funding rounds that broke records for the sector.
Hong Kong-based Klook collected $60 million in a Series C round.
Berlin-based GetYourGuide received $75 million in a Series D round. The private company said it was "profitable" and had sped up its transaction growth to transact 6 million bookings last year.
Expedia has long been in the attraction
