Trivago Looks to Take Share From Google If Regulators Step In
Photo Credit: Trivago CEO Axel Hefer (R) speaking with Skift Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill at Skift Global Forum in New York City on September 21, 2021. Trivago thinks it could benefit if EU antitrust authorities crack down on Google in 2022. Skift
Skift Take
Trivago's expectation that it could benefit from the EU chomping down on Google Travel during 2022 is very much an open question. Beyond the fines levied and outside of travel, Google has managed to maneuver its way around regulatory crackdowns to a large degree.
Trivago thinks European regulatory pressure against its biggest competitors, including Google, could slow them down this year, enabling the metasearch service to gain market share.
Chief financial officer Matthias Tillmann said he expects the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which would take competition steps to rein in large travel companies that it designates as "gatekeepers," could be implemented in 2022.
"The DMA is coming likely this year, which might put some pressure on some of our biggest competitors and might slow them down, and we think that's a benefit for us," Tillmann said during Trivago's fourth quarter earnings call with analysts. "And if we deliver on our product road map, then we can reset and gain market share."
In an interview Wednesday after Trivago's earnings call, CEO Axel Hefer said that in p
