Description
Tripadvisor, Inc., headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, operates online travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content.
Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages and features approximately 1 billion reviews and opinions on approximately 8 million establishments. The company's other brands include Bokun.io, Cruise Critic, FlipKey, TheFork, Holiday Lettings, Housetrip, Jetsetter, Niumba, SeatGuru, and Viator.
In 2021, Tripadvisor earned 34% of its revenues from Expedia Group and Booking Holdings and their subsidiaries, primarily for pay-per-click advertising.
History
Tripadvisor LLC was founded by Stephen Kaufer, Langley Steinert, Nick Shanny, and Thomas Palka in February 2000. Kaufer came up with the idea after being frustrated planning a family vacation.
In September 2000, before the website was launched, the company obtained $2 million in financing. Seed money was obtained from Flagship Ventures, the Bollard Group, and private investors.
In 2004, the company was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp. In August 2005, IAC spun off its travel group of businesses under the Expedia, Inc. name.
In 2007, the company acquired Smarter Travel Media, operator of SmarterTravel.com; BookingBuddy.com; SeatGuru.com; TravelPod.com; Travel-Library.com; and The Independent Traveler, Inc., publisher of Cruise Critic and IndependentTraveler.com. In 2008, the company acquired Holiday Watchdog, a user-generated travel site in the United Kingdom; Airfarewatchdog; Virtualtourist, a travel website with reportedly about one million registered members; OneTime.com, a travel comparison site; and a majority stake in FlipKey, a vacation-rental website.
In April 2009, Tripadvisor launched in China. The company acquired Kuxun.cn, China's second-largest consumer travel site and hotel and flight search engine, in October 2009. In August 2015, Kuxun was sold to Meituan.
In June 2010, the company acquired holidaylettings.co.uk, the largest independent vacation rental website in the United Kingdom. In September 2010, SmarterTravel, part of TripAdvisor Media Group, launched SniqueAway (now Jetsetter), the first members-only site where each travel deal is endorsed by member reviews. In July 2011, the company acquired Where I've Been, a Chicago-based Facebook app.
In December 2011, Expedia completed the corporate spin-off of Tripadvisor into a public company.
The company acquired Wanderfly, an NYC-based travel inspiration website, in October 2012. In 2013, the company acquired Jetsetter, a flash sale site; GateGuru, a flight and airport information mobile app; and Oyster.com, a hotel review and photography website. In 2014, the company acquired Vacation Home Rentals; Tripod; LaFourchette, which became theFork, for $140 million; Viator for $200 million; Mytable; Restopolis; and Tripbod, a London-based travel community.
In 2015, the company acquired Iens, a Dutch restaurant review website; SeatMe, a Dutch table reservation website, ZeTrip, Inc., including its product Rove, a personal journal app that helps users log activities including places they have visited and photos they have taken; Portuguese startup BestTables, and Australian startup Dimmi for $25 million. In April 2016, the company acquired HouseTrip, a holiday rental marketplace based in London. In August 2016, Tripadvisor acquired Citymaps.com, which developed a social mapping site and cross-platform map engine based on OpenStreetMap data. In April 2018, the company acquired Icelandic startup Bokun, a provider of software for travel booking, and in November 2018, the company added DoorDash to its restaurant listings.
In December 2019, Tripadvisor acquired SinglePlatform, a platform that syndicates restaurant menus, from its parent company, Endurance International Group, for $51 million. It also acquired BookATable from Michelin Guide.
In February 2020, the company changed its name from TripAdvisor to Tripadvisor, using a lowercase "a".
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tripadvisor announced 600 layoffs in Canada and the United States and 300 more in other countries as part of a 25% reduction in workforce. The company also closed offices in downtown Boston and San Francisco. In July 2020, Tripadvisor sold 8 brands to Hopjump: Smarter Travel, Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy, OneTime, Oyster.com, Family Vacation Critic, What To Pack, and Holiday Watchdog.
On December 8, 2020, China blocked 105 apps, including Tripadvisor, from mobile app stores. The Cyberspace Administration of China stated that the apps were "illegal", and that public concerns were raised around "obscene, pornographic and violent information or fraud, gambling and prostitution".
In December 2020, the Tripadvisor.com website drew 90.2 million visits, and the Tripadvisor app was among the top 10 travel apps in 26 countries as of January 2021.
In May 2022, Matt Goldberg was announced as the new CEO of TripAdvisor, replacing Stephen Kaufer.
