The lack of liability for online platforms in hosting user reviews has been under intense political pressure. The proliferation of fake reviews doesn't help, either.
Frenemy relationships have a storied history in the push and pull of the travel industry. Tripadvisor's relationship with Google seems to have improved, and there are probably several areas where they might collaborate further.
Boom or bust, these are early days for generative AI. Tripadvisor could either turn the new tech to its advantage, or if not the company could become the Blockbuster Video of trip planning.
Google made changes to Google Flights and Hotels related to transparency in hotel reviews and pricing under pressure from the European Commission — but stopped short of making those modifications…
Less than a year ago, a Tripadvisor pitch deck about Tripadvisor Plus touted its "multibillion dollar revenue potential." Despite the company expressing confidence in Plus when it scrapped its business model in September, Tripadvisor admitted last week "we haven't found the product-market fit that we're looking for."
Booking.com has prided itself on being a household name in its European home base, but will have a tough time avoiding a European Commission designation of gatekeeper. Such stature could bring increased restrictions.
A Thailand hotel filed criminal charges, now dropped, against a review writer. But it's now the hotel itself that will get penalized because its placement on Tripadvisor's pages will get demoted for 90 days.