Tripadvisor’s CEO and CFO Are Heading for the Exit

0:00Bailey Schulz: ZS is a global consulting and technology firm that partners with companies to improve life and how we live it. Working with the world's top hospitality brands, ZS brings together data, science, technology, and human ingenuity to transform ideas into customer loyalty. They're ready to help you elevate guest experiences, improve operations, and uncover preferences and motivations through their AI-powered solutions. With more than 1 ,700 clients in over 170 countries, ZS has built the expertise, fortitude, and vision to help you deliver impact right where it matters.

0:48TripAdvisor's CEO and CFO are heading for the exit. KLM is cutting nearly 15 % of its workforce. and a wave of bomb hoaxes is grounding flights across Europe. Welcome back to the Skip Daily Briefing. This is Global Tourism reporter Bailey Schultz. It's Friday, November 6. Let's get into it. First up, TripAdvisor is losing its top two executives and the outgoing CEO is admitting a big bet didn't pay off. CEO Matt Goldberg will step down in February under an agreement with the board and CFO Michael Noonan leaves at the end of the year to pursue another opportunity. This comes 16 months after activist investor Starboard Value took a 9 % stake in the company.

1:32Since then, TripAdvisor's chairman has left, the company has cut 20 % of its workforce, and agreed to sell the fork to American Express for$700 million. The pressure shows in the numbers. In the third quarter, revenue and experiences, TripAdvisor's most important business, fell 3%. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment dropped 27%. 7%. Goldberg said combining the Vitor and TripAdvisor Experiences teams hadn't proved out as expected. Vitor bookings grew in the low teens. The bookings through the TripAdvisor channel fell by high single digits. Hurt by CEO headwinds and weaker travel from North America to Europe.

2:09Next up, KLM is cutting its workforce by nearly 15 % to find another 1 billion euros a year in earnings improvements. Roughly 2 ,000 catering and some ground service roles are moving to outside providers. Another 2 ,000 roles, mostly at KLM's customer contact center, are shifting to parent company Air France KLM, and about 1 ,000 more will come out through productivity gains. The cuts follow gains in third quarter operating profit, but higher profits aren't buying KLM peace of mind. Its CEO said costs are too high and operations too vulnerable, with rising labor costs and disruption weighing on the airline and warned that more cuts may still come.

2:49This is the same airline that just stopped serving free beer, wine, and cheese sandwiches on European flights. Now, management is betting that a smaller, simpler airline is what it takes to stay competitive. And finally, fake bomb threats are disrupting flights across Europe. On Thursday, threats hit at least 27 flights, the second wave this week. A security advisor to airlines told the AP it could be copycats, a single actor, or hybrid warfare by state actors, and he points to a possible Russian link. Moscow has denied European accusations of sabotage this year. Even fake threats are expensive.

3:21Each one can be a diversion, a full search, a replacement aircraft, crews running out of working hours, and passengers needing to rebook. Insurance typically doesn't cover those losses. And that's on top of jet fuel prices that have more than doubled from a year ago. That's it for your Skiff Daily Briefing. For more travel industry news, head to skiff.com and sign up for our newsletter at skiff.com backslash daily.

3:55Bailey Schulz: ZS is a global consulting and technology firm that partners with companies to improve life and how we live it. Working with the world's top hospitality brands, ZS brings together data, science, technology, and human ingenuity to transform ideas into customer loyalty. They're ready to help you elevate guest experiences, improve operations, and uncover preferences and motivations through their AI-powered solutions. With more than 1 ,700 clients in over 170 countries, ZS has built the expertise, fortitude, and vision to help you deliver impact right where it matters.