Skift Take

Financial quarters come and go but TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer says he will keep working on its Instant Booking initiative until the company gets it right. Can Kaufer really change consumer behavior and turn hotel-review readers into bookers on TripAdvisor? The sentiment is divided but he certainly is committed to doing so.

As TripAdvisor is poised to release its third quarter earnings in a little more than a week, competitors and investors will be reading the tea leaves for new information on the transformation of the review site into a viable hotel-booking business.

If there had been any doubt about his resolve, TripAdvisor co-founder and CEO Stephen Kaufer put that to rest when he spoke at the Skift Global Forum 2016 in September in New York City. Kaufer said TripAdvisor is playing the long game and is committed to pursuing what the site calls Instant Booking on TripAdvisor as an alternative for some of its customers who prefer not to link off to hotel and online travel agency sites to complete their bookings.

Whether it’s through these facilitated bookings on the behalf of hotels and online travel agencies on TripAdvisor or through its metasearch referral business, TripAdvisor makes money either way.

In his talk with Skift co-founder and CEO Rafat Ali, the conversation touched on a variety of issues from flight bookings and restaurant reservations to tours and activities and Kaufer’s desire to stay at TripAdvisor for a protracted period because he feels there is still so much to do.

At the Skift Global Forum 2016 in New York City in September, we heard from CEOs and key executives of travel startups and established brands alike.

Watch the complete discussion with TripAdvisor’s Stephen Kaufer below in the following video.

Read more coverage of Skift Global Forum 2016

At this year’s Skift Global Forum in New York City, travel leaders from around the world gathered for two days of inspiration, information, and conversation for panels such as this as well as solo TED-like talks on the future of travel.

Visit our Skift Global Forum site for more details about 2017 events, including our London event in April of 2017.

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Tags: online travel agencies, sgf2016, skift global forum, tripadvisor

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