Tripadvisor Pivots to ‘Experiences-Led’ Strategy, Unifies Team

Tripadvisor announced Thursday that it was reseting its operating model to “an experiences-led growth strategy,” and will consolidate “Viator and Tripadvisor experiences under one team, strategy, and roadmap.”

Its core Tripadvisor brand, which has been profitable but shrinking, will pivot “to support experiences and data strategies, while simplifying its portfolio of legacy offerings to enhance profitability,” the company said as part of its third quarter earnings announcement.

Tripadvisor announced internally on Wednesday that it’s laying off about 20% of staff across its core Tripadvisor brand, Viator experiences, and general and administrative teams, according to an email sent to employees.

The 20% figure includes employees and contractors.

Skift was first to report Tuesday that layoffs would be announced Wednesday, and that the company would restructure to merge the operations of its Tripadvisor brand and Viator.

Tripadvisor said the “operational changes and efficiencies are expected to generate “at least $85 million in annualized gross cost savings, executed throughout 2026, and fully realized in 2027.”

The company expects to incur $35-$40 million in costs related to severance payments and employee benefits. Most of these will occur in the fourth quarter of 2025, with some of the costs taking place in 2026.

Board Changes

In a financial filing, Tripadvisor announced that Certares founder Greg O’Hara resigned from the board, effective November 3, and that it added Alex Dichter, senior advisor to private equity firm KSL Capital Partners, and corporate travel AI company SkyLink. Tripadvisor said O’Hara did not resign because of any major disagreements with the board.

Get breaking travel news and exclusive hotel, airline, and tourism research and insights at Skift.com.

View Comments