TripAdvisor CEO Sees Mobile Leading to More In-Destination Engagement

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of video interviews from the Skift Take Studio, presented by KDS, that were filmed at last year’s Skift Global Forum.

During the 2017 Skift Global Forum in September in New York City, we heard from a host of the travel industry’s top leaders from across every sector.

And after first speaking to them on stage in front of an audience of more than 1,100, we took another few minutes with them to get more insight in our backstage Skift Take Studio.

In our behind-the-scenes conversation, TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer shared his thoughts about mobile growth, the reason for the company’s increased focus on tours and activities, and efforts to show that  the site is about more than just reviews.

“When we look at 2018, we see further penetration in mobile devices, of course, and when we look at our audience, they’re engaging with TripAdvisor on the trip a lot more,” he said. “That’s a wealth of opportunity for us to not only help them find the thing they want to do, but also cement that full-trip experience.”

One of the biggest challenges the company faces, Kaufer said, is getting people who check reviews on TripAdvisor to also book travel on the site.

“A lot of people don’t know that we have great price comparison capabilities on our site,” he said. “And you can book it on TripAdvisor with instant booking or you can book it on all the other wonderful brands that are represented on our site, more than 200 of them.”

Watch all the Skift Take Studio videos here.