Analysts at FBR & Co. are watching to see how online travel agency TripAdvisor (TRIP) weathers the current deceleration in online hotel shopper growth. “Hotel shopper growth has slowed from 36% in 2013 to the teens so far in 2014, but cost-per-click revenue growth has accelerated with ramping revenue per shopper,” wrote FBR & Co. analyst Jake Fuller in a research report Tuesday. To counter the falloff, TripAdvisor has rolled out Assisted Book, a
Uber’s decision this summer to release its application programming interface (API) could be a game changer for the travel industry. An API is software code that lets other applications and websites easily integrate each other’s functionality. By making its API public, Uber lets customers book rides directly from TripAdvisor (TRIP), Hyatt Hotels (H), United Airlines (UAL) and a handful of other apps and sites, including Starbucks (SBUX).
TripAdvisor (TRIP) and HomeAway (AWAY) stocks both plunged in the stock market today, after the two online travel companies issued disappointing Q3 earnings late Tuesday. Several investment houses lowered their price targets. Travel review and metasearch firm TripAdvisor issued Q3 EPS that missed analyst estimates, but sales beat. CEO Steve Kaufer said in a conference call with analysts that the company was hurt by lower-than-expected ad