As Tripadvisor navigates through a changing online ecosystem while rebranding its identity, the Massachusetts-based company reports a 3% decline in revenue for the full year 2019 to $1.56 billion.
Total revenue for the fourth quarter slipped 3% year-over-year to $335 million, narrowly topping analyst expectations of $334 million.
In a letter to shareholders, CEO Steve Kaufer writes that the revenue decline was “driven primarily by lapping impacts from performance marketing optimizations in the Hotels, Media and Platform segment.”
Revenue from the Hotels, Media and Platform segment decreased by 6% to $194 million in the quarter.
“We noted stronger-than-expected SEO channel headwinds in our Q2 and Q3 earnings commentary, as Google continues to siphon off high-quality traffic that would otherwise have visited Tripadvisor,” writes Kaufer.
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The company also reports a double-digit loss in hotel auction revenue and a 9% downturn in Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue during the quarter.
“Despite the recent hotel auction headwinds, we are optimistic about our future revenue growth prospects, as we believe potential hotel auction headwinds will be more than offset by our growing revenue lines in the years to come,” writes Kaufer.
Tripadvisor increased revenue in its Experiences and Dining segment by 16% in the quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA rose by 6% in the quarter to $92 million and by 4% in the full year to $438 million.
In January, Tripadvisor marked its 20th anniversary by updating its logo and revealing a new brand realignment where Viator will operate outside of Tripadvisor Experiences.
“We believe our recent organizational changes will generate continued strong growth in Tripadvisor Experiences, as well as further unlock Viator’s potential,” writes Kaufer.
There are plans for product rollouts in 2020, such as a new Tripadvisor mobile app.
Kaufer writes: “This will be a critical user experience upgrade, giving our most engaged audience a fast, powerful, on-the-go travel companion to help them discover, plan and book.”