Trivago

Trivago N.V.[2] is a German technology company owned by US-based Expedia Group that specializes in travel and lodging. Its main product is the Trivago online search engine and accommodation booking website that lists prices provided by hotels and other booking websites.

Trivago is headquartered in Düsseldorf, where its international operations are managed. The company operates as a subsidiary of Expedia Group and employs staff across product development, marketing, and data analytics functions, with its platform serving users globally.

History

The company was founded in Düsseldorf, Germany, in January 2005.[3] Seeing an opportunity in the hotel search space, the founding team developed Germany's first hotel search engine. Shortly after launch, Stephan Stubner resigned as Managing Director, but the three other founders (Rolf Schrömgens, Peter Vinnemeier and Malte Siewert) remained.[4]

Products and features

industry	Travel, Hotel, Information technology, Marketing

products	Metasearch for hotel prices

parent	Expedia Group (60% as of December 2023)

subsid	Base7booking Rheinfabrik TripHappy‡R1R‡

revenue	Revenues for 2024 were €460.85 million

num employees	651 (as of December 31, 2023)

Trivago app

Trivago also offers free and fee-based versions of its Hotel Manager product, which hoteliers use to market their facilities on the Trivago site.[16] As a hotel price comparison website, Trivago makes money from advertising partners primarily using a cost-per-click (CPC) business model. Booking platforms, hoteliers and other providers list rates and advertise on the Trivago site, paying for the clicks received from Trivago users.[4][17]

Business Studio - Trivago for Business

Trivago Business Studio is a marketing platform dedicated to independent hoteliers. Hoteliers can improve their visibility in Trivago’s metasearch using Business Studio’s free, customizable analytical tools and promotional apps.[18]

Rate Connect

Trivago’s Rate Connect is designed to help independent hoteliers increase direct bookings and lower distribution costs. The way to do that is by enabling hoteliers to promote their website directly on trivago, without the intermediary of an online travel agency.[19][20]

Indices and rankings

Trivago Rating Index (tRI)

The tRI aggregates all ratings for destinations listed on Trivago and ranks them between 0 and 100.[21] The index includes criteria such as location, price, food, internet, room and facilities,[22] and is used to create annual Trivago rankings and awards such as the Reputation Ranking,[23] Island Ranking,[24] Ski Ranking,[25] the Top Hotel Awards,[26] and the Best Value Destinations (based on an algorithm combining the tRI with price).

Trivago Rating Index (tRI)

Trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI)

The Trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI) displays the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular cities worldwide. Prices are based on the cost of a standard double room, taken from over 2 million daily price inquiries over the past month.[9]

Marketing

Trivago focuses on online marketing (SEM and display advertising), public relations and brand marketing (TV).[28]

The "Trivago guy"

When the company aired its first U.S. TV advertisement in 2012, the ad's spokesman inspired a trending Twitter hashtag, #Trivagoguy, based on his unusual look.[29] According to Rolling Stone, Trivago "wanted someone real, approachable and genuine" when it chose actor Tim Williams to star in the ad. The Trivago guy became an unexpected celebrity, with some people noting his unbuttoned shirt and creepy nature, while others found his scruffy appearance and deep voice "inexplicably sexy".[30]

Trivago responded to the comments by launching a contest that invited people to give the Trivago guy a makeover.[31] The Trivago guy inspired parodies, fan fiction and a large gay following.[32]

Many commenters asked why Trivago chose not to have the actor wear a belt. According to the actor, that was an accident. "Unfortunately none of the belts fit the belt loops that I had on", Williams said. "I think that was probably the best break we could have gotten."[29] Following the large response for the U.S. Trivago guy, the company decided to create French and Spanish Trivago guys.[29] From 2016 until June 2017, the French actor Mehdi Nebbou was the German Trivago guy.

For Latin America (the whole Spanish-speaking region) Trivago's commercials are presented by Spanish actor Gonzalo Peña. In Brazil, the man shown on screen is the well-known actor and model Willian Mello.

In 2016, the company aired ads in India with Abhinav Kumar. Abhinav became popular and an internet sensation for his role in ubiquitous Trivago ads in India.[33][34][35][36][37]

In 2024 former football manager Jürgen Klopp was named as the face of Trivago's new global marketing campaign.[38]

The "Trivago girl"

In the United Kingdom, Trivago's advertisements are fronted by Australian actress and musician Gabrielle Miller.[39] In Japan, Trivago is represented in their TV commercials by singer/songwriter Natalie Emmons, who uses the pseudonym "Strae" in the United States.[40] In Malaysia, actress and TV host Dahlia Shazwan has starred in Trivago's advertisements.[41]

former name	Travel B.V.
type	Public subsidiary
traded as	nasdaq: TRVG
founded	January 2005 in Düsseldorf, Germany
founders	Rolf Schrömgens Stephan Stubner Peter Vinnemeier Malte Siewert
location city	Düsseldorf
location country	Germany
areas served	190 countries worldwide
key people	Johannes Thomas (CEO) Wolf Schmuhl (CFO) Jasmine Ezz (CMO) Andrej Lehnert (CPO)

History

Business model

Products and features

Trivago app

Business Studio - Trivago for Business

Rate Connect

Indices and rankings

Trivago Rating Index (tRI)

Trivago Rating Index (tRI)

Trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI)

Marketing

The "Trivago guy"

The "Trivago girl"

Legal issues

Leadership Structure Transformation

See also

External links

References

Trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI)