Articles tagged “oyster”

There's momentum building to make remote work a reality at some of the more progressive multinational companies, but the question of travel policies and tax liabilities could prove too much of a headache.

For a travel startup like Oyster, there's nothing like attracting the interest of a deep-pocketed buyer with a huge consumer audience. Oyster knew that is what it needed and it bucked the odds and lived to fight another day.

Between its traveler, expert and management photos, TripAdvisor now has a depth of photo content that is unparalleled for guests checking to see what the property looks like. That's why TripAdvisor acquired Oyster, for the professional hotel photography, warts and all.

TripAdvisor has plenty of cash on hand, but if it is true to historical form, it will likely be seeking to continue making smallish acquisitions of struggling travel startups, such as it did with Oyster.com, on the cheap in 2014.

Given the expense of dispatching staff to each hotel to write reviews and take photos, Oyster never had a clear business model. But it is clear that TripAdvisor values Oyster's photos as a way to bridge the gap between hotel-supplied photos and very amateur guest photos.

Oyster began with grand ambitions and little understanding of how to create content without spending lots and lots of money. That content will now find a home at a brand that understands more sensible ways to do the same thing.

Axing the staff doesn't bode particularly well for a sale of Oyster.com, which many people said from its beginnings didn't have a viable business model. A expensive experiment, with Oyster's professionally written reviews taking precedence over hotels' marketing drivel, has all come to this.

Oyster has great content, but will potential buyers, such as media companies or hotel sites, really be brave enough to accommodate a business that bills itself as "The Hotel Tell-All?" Many will shy away from this candor because they don't want to offend hotel partners. That being said, critics said from day one that the Oyster's premise of professional reviews was unsustainable, and so far that is turning out to be true.

Hotels looking to differentiate themselves from one another this time are turning to hallways and rooms lined with both brand-name art and works by locals; often you can buy the artwork right off the wall.