far from start-up, close to stagnation - Anonymous employee Tripadvisor Employee Review

3.0
Apr 26, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

snacks and drinks catered lunch video games (nobody plays) alcohol decent starting salary great brand recognition some travel benefits

Cons

as many others say, tripadvisor is not a company that takes risks. that leads towards a lot of complacence as well as frustrated/hindered talent. probably a primary reason that many have left, as i did. marketing team runs amok with inflated egos. sales team seems to be a complete joke (leadership is epitome of wheelers and dealers who couldn't sell a product that required any calculated or strategic thought whatsoever, much less have the professionalism, innovation or foresight to keep themselves relevant for that much longer). product and engineering teams (just hire more actual engineers, and less ops folks) look ok, though seem to lose someone important once a quarter senior management is fooling themselves thinking this is a start-up. you're far from being a lean organization, my friends. deal with the growing pains. reward employees that deserve to be rewarded. communicate proposed changes and request as much feedback as possible. put more things up to vote. take a hard look at your middle mgt because you have redundant and irrelevant folks holding up the contributions of direct reports. and finally: take a darn risk with a product once in awhile. the facelift for the site last year was ok but it's time to give people something to really talk about with your UX and interface.

Explore other reviews about Tripadvisor

5.0
Jan 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

people are awesome remote work is common pay and benefits are good

Cons

can they stay relevant in the world of AI

1
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Tripadvisor Response
5mo
Thank you for your positive remarks. As our company continues to evolve, we are appreciative of employee comments that highlight our strengths as well as areas we can improve upon.
2.0
Jun 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people you get to work with are genuinely great, and the work-life balance remains fairly solid. In the past, the company attracted top-tier engineering talent from the most reputable tech firms, and the expectations were high but rewarding. A lot of that collaborative culture still exists among the engineers. You will be surrounded by capable individuals who want to do good work.

Cons

The company has been battered by unresolved structural issues over the last decade. The core meta-search business was crippled when Google altered its algorithms to prioritize its own travel products, effectively choking off the organic traffic Tripadvisor depended on. Combined with the impact of COVID-19, leadership tried launching new products to escape this SEO reliance, but those attempts consistently missed the mark. Now, the rapid adoption of LLMs is delivering another severe blow. Users no longer need traditional meta-search to plan travel. The core Tripadvisor product has essentially become a legacy cash cow, with the Experiences division (Viator) being the primary engine keeping the business afloat. Following the departure of the former CEO, thousands of highly skilled employees have left through attrition or ongoing restructuring. Layoffs have become a grim constant, happening once or twice a year. Even if you manage to avoid the cuts, the compensation structure is no longer competitive for the tech industry, and RSUs have virtually dried up. Because of the abysmal direction and the very high chance you won't survive the next round of looming layoffs, I strongly recommend avoiding this company as a new hire.

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