Tripadvisor has confirmed its plan to restructure to focus on experiences with a reduction in the company's global workforce.
The company said it expects US$85 million in annualised cost savings as a result of the “realignment,” with the majority expected to be realized in 2026.
Tripadvisor also said that it expects to incur charges of about up to US$40 million related to the restructuring, which will be made up of severance payments, employee benefits and other related costs. The strategy will see the loss of about 20% of the company's workforce, or about 450 people.
The company is pivoting from its roots as a reviews and guidance site toward the fast-growing in-destination experiences sector, in what CEO Matt Goldberg calls a “fundamental shift”.
Additional changes through the restructuring include news roles for Pepijn Rijvers who becomes chief business officer and Kristin Dorsett who becomes general manager of experiences. Dorsett will report to Rijvers.
On a recent call with analystsg, Goldberg said that the company plans to merge the experiences team at Brand Tripadvisor, the company’s core metasearch and travel guidance platform, with Viator, its tours and activities marketplace.
Tripadvisor’s relationship with Viator has been marked by ups and downs. Acquired in 2014 for about $200 million, the tours and activities platform struggled for years to find its footing inside Tripadvisor’s broader ecosystem. By 2022, Tripadvisor was reportedly considering spinning off the brand, but in recent years, Viator has turned into the company’s standout performer. One year ago, Viator’s revenue surpassed that of brand Tripadvisor for the first time, and in March, the company brought in Rijvers, a former Booking.com executive, to lead the experiences brand.
Goldberg said the impending changes are being made to narrow the focus of brand Tripadvisor and to lean into growth opportunities, namely experiences and artificial intelligence, while simultaneously managing its legacy offerings for profitability.
“These actions are designed to sharpen our execution, accelerate revenue growth, improve operating margins and build a more resilient financial profile,” he said.
“This shifts us from optimizing for individual brands, to optimising as a single, focused company – one that’s deeply focused on being experience-led.”
The combined reach of brand Tripadvisor and Viator paired with third-party distribution should create value for operators, according to Goldberg. He said the situation presents a unique advantage for Tripadvisor’s experiences business that hasn’t yet been fully realised.
“By unifying our teams behind experienced leadership, we’ll build on our strong marketplace flywheel,” Goldberg said. “Our product and supply optimisations accelerate our conversion wins to fuel more efficient and effective marketing, which in turn compounds the conversion gains, driving higher repeat rates and improved unit economics.”
Source: PhocusWire