TripAdvisor shares drop as hotel revenue slumps and online competition heats up in second quarter
Lower hotel revenues and costly expansion investments hit travel site TripAdvisor’s quarterly revenues today.
The figures
Shares were down 7.6 per cent in after hours trading to $64.24 (£48.49), after the company posted a three per cent fall in revenue to $391m and a 41 per cent drop in net income to $34m in the second quarter to 30 June.
Hotel revenue, which makes up around 80 per cent of its sales, fell eight per cent to $316m.
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Average monthly unique visitors to the site reached 350m, while marketing costs rose 5.2 per cent year-on-year.
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Why it's interesting
User reviews and opinions reached 385m in the quarter, covering 1.04m hotels and accommodations, 815,000 vacation rentals, 4.1m restaurants and 690,000 attractions and experiences.
However, TripAdvisor is still struggling to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive online market where sites such as AirBnB and Kayak have diluted interest in its offerings.
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In the last quarter its revenue also decreased three per cent, though user review and unique visitor numbers have both edged higher in the second quarter.
What TripAdvisor said
Chief executive Steve Kaufer said:
We took important steps along our key initiatives during the second quarter. Hotel instant booking is now live to users around the globe.
We also continued to build a more end-to-end travel experience through our attractions, restaurants and vacation rental businesses as we grew bookable supply and improved our consumer offering on all devices, especially on mobile.
We continue to play the long game as we navigate our business to deliver the best experience in travel.