TripAdvisor CEO Was Coy About Pullback in Meta Advertising Business
Photo Credit: TripAdvisor has seen a falloff in its hotel-search business. Pictured is Royal Son Bou Family Club on the Spanish island of Menorca. TripAdvisor
Skift Take
TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer was extremely political today in his response to questions about decreased advertising spend from metasearch partners. How the company will rejuvenate its hotel booking product remains an unanswered question as well.
After posting weak results in the third quarter, particularly from its hotel booking product, TripAdvisor executives were tight-lipped on the effects of its biggest advertising partners shifting share to other channels.
It seems like a new normal is in effect as advertising auctions have become less profitable, although executives believe a widespread shift has yet to happen.
"With respect to the bid downs, we've run this auction for so many years, [so] there's always a fair amount of month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter [movement]," said TripAdvisor president and CEO Stephen Kaufer on the company's earnings call Tuesday. "In this particular case, I think you've seen our partners' comments on increasing marketing incrementally. They don't seem to be comment
