According to data presented by Trading Plaftorms, TripAdvisor experienced a 61% YoY decrease in revenue in 2020. The company posted US$604m (R8,8bn), the lowest reported revenue since 2010, and almost $1bn (R14,5bn) less than 2019’s revenue of $1,56bn (R22,7bn).
Despite a cost-cutting exercise in 2020, TripAdvisor also still posted a significant nett loss of $289m (R4,2bn).
The company lowered its sales and marketing costs to $316m (R4,6bn) in 2020, 53% lower than 2019’s $672m (R9,8bn) figure.
Whereas in 2019 TripAdvisor increased its workforce by 25%, it had to reduce the number of employees by 38,1% in 2020. There are now just under 2 600 employees.
In the meantime, the company has launched a new subscription offering in the US, TripAdvisor Plus. This turns TripAdvisor into an entity closely resembling an OTA, giving travellers who are willing to pay the annual membership fee of $99 (R1 440), access to personalised service, insider discounts and upgrades and other benefits.
