Overview

Tripadvisor is a United States-based travel technology company whose namesake platform combines user-generated reviews, destination information, accommodation and restaurant listings, price comparison, advertising, and booking-related services. Its website and mobile applications cover hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants, attractions, tours, cruises, flights, and travel experiences. The platform is available internationally, operating across approximately 40 countries and 20 languages, and has developed one of the largest publicly accessible collections of travel reviews and opinions. The company describes Tripadvisor as a community-led resource for researching and planning trips, while its commercial model includes advertising, referral and booking revenue, and business tools for travel suppliers. Tripadvisor was founded in February 2000 by Stephen Kaufer, Langley Steinert, Nick Shanny, and Thomas Palka. Kaufer developed the concept after finding existing vacation-planning resources inadequate. The company initially raised seed financing before launching its website and then grew from a specialist review service into a broader travel media and commerce group. In 2004, it was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp. IAC subsequently placed its travel assets within Expedia, and Tripadvisor became part of the Expedia corporate structure until its 2011 spin-off as a separately traded public company on Nasdaq under the symbol TRIP. During the 2000s and 2010s, Tripadvisor expanded through acquisitions and launches in adjacent categories. These included Cruise Critic, SeatGuru, vacation-rental services such as FlipKey and Holiday Lettings, restaurant reservation businesses later consolidated under TheFork, and Viator, a major marketplace for tours and activities. The company also acquired or operated brands including Bokun, SinglePlatform, HouseTrip, Jetsetter, Oyster.com, VirtualTourist, GateGuru, and Citymaps. Some brands were later sold, closed, or reorganized as Tripadvisor concentrated on travel experiences, reviews, and supplier-facing technology. The company’s most distinctive asset is its review community. Reviews and ratings influence consumer discovery and purchasing decisions, while listings and commercial placements provide visibility for hotels, restaurants, attractions, destination organizations, and other travel businesses. Tripadvisor has invested in automated and human moderation systems intended to identify fraudulent, abusive, promotional, or otherwise policy-violating content. Nevertheless, the reliability of anonymous reviews, the presence of fabricated listings, and the handling of allegations involving hotels have repeatedly generated criticism and regulatory scrutiny. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp contraction in travel demand. In 2020, Tripadvisor announced workforce reductions equivalent to roughly one quarter of its employees and closed certain offices. It also divested several media properties. In February 2020, the company adopted the lowercase-a spelling “Tripadvisor” as its principal brand styling. Matt Goldberg became president and chief executive officer in 2022, succeeding co-founder Stephen Kaufer. Tripadvisor continues to operate its review and travel-planning platform alongside Viator and other travel businesses, with a strategic emphasis on experiences, digital planning, supplier services, and personalized discovery.

History

Tripadvisor LLC was established in February 2000 by Stephen Kaufer, Langley Steinert, Nick Shanny, and Thomas Palka. The founding concept focused on helping travelers make decisions through first-hand information rather than relying only on brochures or professionally produced travel guides. Before the website launched, the company obtained seed financing from Flagship Ventures, the Bollard Group, and private investors. By 2004, the service had attracted millions of monthly visitors and was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp. IAC transferred its travel businesses into Expedia in 2005. Under Expedia, Tripadvisor expanded from a review website into a travel-media and comparison group. It acquired Smarter Travel Media and sites such as Cruise Critic and SeatGuru in 2007, followed by properties including VirtualTourist, Airfarewatchdog, Holiday Watchdog, OneTime, and a majority interest in FlipKey in 2008. The company entered China in 2009 and acquired Kuxun.cn, a Chinese travel search and booking site, later selling that asset in 2015. Expansion continued through the 2010s. Tripadvisor acquired Holiday Lettings, Where I’ve Been, Wanderfly, Jetsetter, GateGuru, Oyster.com, vacation-rental businesses, and multiple restaurant reservation companies. The acquisition of Viator in 2014 gave the company a large marketplace for tours and activities. Restaurant reservation assets were subsequently assembled under TheFork, while supplier technology became an important part of the wider portfolio. Tripadvisor also acquired Dutch, Portuguese, and Australian restaurant platforms, HouseTrip, Citymaps, and Bokun. In 2019 it acquired SinglePlatform, which distributes restaurant menus and information, and Bookatable from Michelin Guide. Expedia completed Tripadvisor’s spin-off in December 2011, creating an independently listed company. Tripadvisor’s core model combined free consumer content with advertising, sponsored placements, referral links, and booking connections. Its rankings and review volume made it influential in travel discovery, but the same scale created recurring problems involving fraudulent reviews, commercial manipulation, anonymous allegations, and disputes over moderation. The company changed its official styling from TripAdvisor to Tripadvisor in February 2020. The pandemic then severely affected international travel and advertising demand. Tripadvisor announced a workforce reduction of approximately 25 percent, closed offices in Boston and San Francisco, and sold several media brands to Hopjump. Its long-term response emphasized experiences, supplier software, restaurant technology, and a closer relationship between Tripadvisor’s planning audience and Viator’s tours-and-activities marketplace. Matt Goldberg became president and chief executive in 2022, replacing co-founder Stephen Kaufer. Tripadvisor remains a public travel technology company headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. Its principal activities continue to center on reviews, travel research, comparison, advertising, reservations, experiences, and software serving travel operators.

2022
Matt Goldberg becomes CEO
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Matt Goldberg succeeded Stephen Kaufer as president and chief executive.
2020
Brand styling changes to Tripadvisor
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
The company adopted the lowercase-a Tripadvisor spelling and announced major pandemic-related restructuring.
2018
Bokun acquired
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Tripadvisor acquired Bokun, an Icelandic provider of booking software for travel operators.
2014
Viator acquired
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Tripadvisor acquired Viator, expanding its activities and tours marketplace.
2011
Public-company spin-off
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Tripadvisor was separated from Expedia and began trading on Nasdaq under TRIP.
2009
China launch and Kuxun acquisition
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Tripadvisor launched in China and later acquired Kuxun.cn, a Chinese travel search and booking service.
2005
Travel assets move into Expedia
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
IAC spun off its travel group into Expedia, placing Tripadvisor within that corporate structure.
2004
Acquired by IAC
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
IAC/InterActiveCorp acquired Tripadvisor as the service established a substantial travel audience.
2000
Tripadvisor is founded
[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Tripadvisor LLC was founded in February by Stephen Kaufer, Langley Steinert, Nick Shanny, and Thomas Palka.

Products and positioning

A global, community-driven travel discovery and commerce platform that uses reviews, rankings, listings, comparison tools, and booking connections to help consumers plan trips and help travel businesses reach customers.

Travel information and planning · 2000
Tripadvisor.com and mobile apps
The flagship Tripadvisor service provides destination pages, accommodation and restaurant listings, traveler reviews, ratings, rankings, photographs, maps, editorial information, price comparison, and links to booking providers. Its mobile applications extend these functions to trip planning and discovery while traveling.
Tours and activities marketplace
Viator
Viator is a marketplace for excursions, tours, attractions, activities, and other travel experiences. It connects travelers with experience suppliers and complements Tripadvisor’s review and destination-discovery functions.
Restaurant reservations
TheFork
TheFork is Tripadvisor’s restaurant-discovery and reservation business, combining restaurant listings, consumer reviews, availability, and table-booking functionality in supported markets.
Travel supplier software · 2018
Bokun
Bokun provides booking, distribution, inventory, and operational software for tour and activity operators. Its technology supports suppliers that sell experiences through direct and third-party channels.

Controversies

2021
Offensive review concerning Auschwitz-Birkenau removed after backlash
Tripadvisor initially said an offensive review about Auschwitz-Birkenau complied with its guidelines, but later removed it following public criticism.
Source
2021
Father sues Tripadvisor and HolidayLettings over fatal Malibu fire
Brad Schneider filed a negligence suit against Tripadvisor and its subsidiary HolidayLettings.co.uk, alleging that they failed to disclose information about whether the leased property had been vetted and thereby misrepresented or concealed facts about its safety. These are allegations stated in the suit.
Source
2019
TripAdvisor and Viator sued over camel-tour injury
Breanne Ayala filed a lawsuit against TripAdvisor and its subsidiary Viator in Norfolk Superior Court, accusing the companies of negligence and breach of contract. According to the suit, the companies failed to ensure that a camel-tour operator in Morocco was operating safely. The filing was reported in late December 2019.
Source
2017
Criticism over sexual-assault review moderation
Two women said reviews warning about alleged sexual assaults at a Mexican resort were removed or not published. The episode intensified criticism of Tripadvisor’s moderation policies for safety-related complaints.
Source
2017
Fake-review and phantom-restaurant demonstrations
Journalistic experiments demonstrated that fabricated reviews and a nonexistent restaurant could gain substantial visibility, highlighting weaknesses in listing and review verification even though Tripadvisor used fraud-detection systems.
Source
2014
Italian antitrust fine over review-source representations
Italy’s antitrust authority fined Tripadvisor and its Italian arm over allegedly misleading claims concerning the sources of reviews and the reliability of information on the site.
Source
2012
Airfare drip-pricing fine
The United States Department of Transportation fined Tripadvisor for displaying airfare prices without required taxes and fees in a sufficiently clear manner.
Source
2011
Advertising Standards Authority review of trust claims
The UK Advertising Standards Authority found that Tripadvisor should not broadly imply that every review was genuine, honest, or written by a real traveler. The company was required to remove the “reviews you can trust” wording from its UK site.
Source

Brand decisions

2022
Change in chief executiveOther
Background
After more than two decades of leadership by co-founder Stephen Kaufer, Tripadvisor appointed a new chief executive.
Action taken
Matt Goldberg became president and CEO.
Aftermath
Leadership transitioned from the company’s founding era to a new phase focused on travel experiences and platform development.
Source
2020
Pandemic restructuring and portfolio reductionStrategy
Background
COVID-19 caused a severe decline in travel activity, advertising, and booking demand.
Action taken
Tripadvisor reduced its workforce by approximately 25 percent, closed selected offices, and sold several media brands.
Aftermath
The company placed greater emphasis on its core platform, experiences, and travel-supplier technology.
Source
2014
Acquire ViatorM&A
Background
Tripadvisor sought to expand beyond reviews and accommodation research into bookable travel activities.
Action taken
The company acquired Viator, a tours and activities marketplace.
Aftermath
Experiences became a central part of Tripadvisor’s broader travel-commerce strategy.
Source
2011
Separate Tripadvisor from ExpediaStrategy
Background
Tripadvisor had grown into a substantial travel-media and review business within Expedia.
Action taken
Expedia completed a corporate spin-off, creating an independently listed Tripadvisor company.
Aftermath
Tripadvisor began trading on Nasdaq under TRIP and pursued its own acquisition and portfolio strategy.
Source

Recent events

2022
Matt Goldberg appointed chief executive[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Leadership change
Matt Goldberg succeeded co-founder Stephen Kaufer as Tripadvisor’s president and chief executive.
2020
Tripadvisor announces pandemic workforce reduction[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Other
The company announced approximately 900 layoffs globally, including reductions in the United States and Canada, as travel demand collapsed during COVID-19.
2020
China removes Tripadvisor from mobile app stores[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
Regulation
Tripadvisor was among applications removed from Chinese mobile app stores during a regulatory action involving more than one hundred apps.
2011
Tripadvisor becomes a separately traded public company[1]Tripadvisoren.wikipedia.org
M&A · Other
Expedia completed the corporate separation of Tripadvisor, which began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker TRIP.

Related entries

Viator