Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer said Tripadvisor is "uniquely positioned as the world opens up again." Actually it isn't, as the company's first quarter performance shows. Yes, Tripadvisor has world-class traffic, and growing experiences and dining businesses, but it totally missed out on the short-term rental opportunity.
Tripadvisor likely had a difficult time to fill this role. Several potential candidates begged off. This will be a heavy lift as the team tries to figure out the best future options.
Expedia Group stepped out of the pack and ceased offering travel to and from Russia because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The company doesn't have a ton of Russia-related business, so even if the move is more symbolic than anything else, it is an important statement.
As part of its "connected trip" and loyalty strategy, Booking Holdings argued it can convince hotels and other partners to offer up substantial discounts and perks, and this would spur incremental bookings. But do hotels really want to be a cog in building the Booking.com brand?
Another quarterly earnings call, another round of debates about how Tripadvisor could find more value from its Viator brand. Listen as our in-house experts break down the plusses and minuses of the situation.
Whether it is hotel-like commission levels on the online travel agencies, new product features, or market share gains, Tripadvisor was unabashedly selling the virtues of a Viator IPO — or deal. It's not a winner-take-all market, but rivals have narrowed any competitive gap.
You can look for plenty of wheeling-dealing behind the scenes as Tripadvisor mulls taking Viator public and investigates alternatives with potential buyers or partners.
Tripadvisor could likely have more resources to invest in Viator's growth if it spun out the tours and activities brand into a separate public company. A nice way to better compete against Softbank-funded GetYourGuide and Klook.