WEBVTT - Tripadvisor CEO Matt Goldberg Talks Consumer Sentiment on Travel

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Consumer sentiment has been

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<v Speaker 1>dour for several months, and we got an update on

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Michigan's numbers. They are sinking now to

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<v Speaker 1>a two year low. This has the Fed's preferred measure

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<v Speaker 1>of inflation starts to tick up, consumer spending coming in

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<v Speaker 1>weaker than expected in that same report. For more insights

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<v Speaker 1>into how the consumer is holding up, specifically through the

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<v Speaker 1>lens of travel, let's bring Matt Goldberg into the conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>He's the CEO of the travel platform trip Advisor, which, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you can book a hotel, you can book airflight, you

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<v Speaker 1>can book a restaurant, and so far from what I've

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<v Speaker 1>heard from other companies, those bookings have actually held up

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<v Speaker 1>pretty well. Are they holding up on your site?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the travel consumer wants to continue to travel, and

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<v Speaker 2>the discretionary category is one that they're protecting, particularly around experiences,

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<v Speaker 2>because they want to have the next experience and not

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<v Speaker 2>necessarily buy the next thing. So the travel consumer's been strong,

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<v Speaker 2>and we've seen post pandemic, there's always going to be something,

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<v Speaker 2>and the consumer is going to continue to travel.

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<v Speaker 1>What are they Where are they going? I guess are

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<v Speaker 1>they taking like these big sort of bucket list trips

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<v Speaker 1>to you know, some far from places of the earth,

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<v Speaker 1>or are they just saying, you know, I'm just going

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<v Speaker 1>to you know, drive a couple of states over and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, go to the state park.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's everywhere. Now.

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<v Speaker 2>There may be some bifurcation between the upper end and

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<v Speaker 2>the mid and lower ends, and you might make different choices.

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<v Speaker 2>But clearly internationals holding up well, we see long haul

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<v Speaker 2>holding up well, We've heard that from some of the airlines.

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<v Speaker 3>But also if you're.

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<v Speaker 2>Somebody whose pocketbook might get pinched with some of the uncertainty,

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<v Speaker 2>you may travel, but you may think about where am

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<v Speaker 2>I going to go?

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<v Speaker 3>Make closer to home a few fewer days.

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<v Speaker 2>You may think about how much you want to spend,

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<v Speaker 2>but you're still going to prioritize, preserve, and defend the

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<v Speaker 2>ability to have that experience.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there an argument to be made that during bad

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<v Speaker 1>economic times sometimes people still make sure they have enough

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<v Speaker 1>money to travel because it ends up being maybe one

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<v Speaker 1>of the few things that you know makes them happy

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<v Speaker 1>during bad times. Is there credence to that?

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's true. I want to be I want

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<v Speaker 2>to be logical about this. Our industry is not immune

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<v Speaker 2>to the macrol at all, and the consumer, when their

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<v Speaker 2>personal balance sheet is impacted, may make different choices.

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<v Speaker 3>But I think you're right.

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<v Speaker 2>They are defending experiences, travel, things to do, things that

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<v Speaker 2>make them feel like they can get out and have

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<v Speaker 2>fun and learn something and see the world.

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<v Speaker 3>That's something they want to defend.

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<v Speaker 1>But a few weeks ago we got some warnings out

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<v Speaker 1>of the airlines, and we're going to get another update

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<v Speaker 1>next week as one of the major airlines. As an

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<v Speaker 1>investor day, they've lowered their expectations for the year, specifically

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to leisure travel.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and you saw the same things that I saw.

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<v Speaker 2>They talked about Q one, but they were more confident

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<v Speaker 2>about the end of the year and they showed some

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<v Speaker 2>bifurcation perhaps talked about long haul and premium and some

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<v Speaker 2>of the things that are happening there. You know, one

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<v Speaker 2>of the things that we do is we built our

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<v Speaker 2>business around experiences, and we are focused on making sure

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<v Speaker 2>that no matter what somebody wants to do, whether it's

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<v Speaker 2>close to home or far away, we can serve them.

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<v Speaker 2>Because you don't have to get on an airplane to

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<v Speaker 2>have an experience. You can get in the car. You

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<v Speaker 2>can do it down the road and you can experience

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<v Speaker 2>the world, whether it's we're something to do, we're you know,

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<v Speaker 2>doing a cultural immersion in your own town.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you had any discussions with your team or some

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<v Speaker 1>of your colleagues in the industry about a potential shift

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<v Speaker 1>and behavior because of what's going on in Washington. There's

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<v Speaker 1>been anecdotal stories we should point out of people either

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<v Speaker 1>postponing overseas travel or overseas travelers postponing trips to the

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<v Speaker 1>US because of concerns about the geopolitical relationships going on

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<v Speaker 1>right now.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, obviously uncertainty in these things can can factor into

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<v Speaker 2>all kinds of choices. But you know, I think that

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<v Speaker 2>the traveler still wants to travel, and we'll serve them

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<v Speaker 2>wherever they want to go, whether it's an iconic place

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<v Speaker 2>in a famous country or closer to home, something to

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<v Speaker 2>do that's immersive and experience, like a farm to table experience.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, they will go and do that.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's how we're trying to connect to that traveler

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<v Speaker 2>and serve them wherever they want to go.

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<v Speaker 1>So how do you keep trip advisor itself competitive? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>this is a very competitive business with what you do.

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<v Speaker 1>I saw you actually had a deal that I just

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<v Speaker 1>read about with perplexity on the AI front, the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of making it easier for people to plan out things,

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<v Speaker 1>and we've seen a lot of people start to plan

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<v Speaker 1>out their vacations using various AI tools.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely well.

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<v Speaker 2>Our vision is to be the most trusted source for

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<v Speaker 2>travel and experiences. And as people start to experiment with

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<v Speaker 2>technology and use AI, they want to find better experiences.

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<v Speaker 2>So in discovery, they want to plan more effectively, so

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<v Speaker 2>seamlessly and quicker and not have to go to lots

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<v Speaker 2>of different places. They want trusted content and information, and

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<v Speaker 2>we think AI will be a tailwind for us because

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<v Speaker 2>we've got a trusted brand, we've got content and data,

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<v Speaker 2>and we sit in the ecosystem in a place where

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<v Speaker 2>we want to guide you and then connect you to

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<v Speaker 2>marketplaces where as you said, you can book a restaurant

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<v Speaker 2>and experience a hotel and have that moment that is transformative.

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<v Speaker 3>If people are looking.

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<v Speaker 1>If times are hard and people are looking for more

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<v Speaker 1>discounts or deals, can they find that there yet?

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely well.

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<v Speaker 2>The history of trip Advisor is clearly we've been a

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<v Speaker 2>place you can go to compare pricing and We think

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<v Speaker 2>that that's very interesting. It's also a place where we

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<v Speaker 2>want to reward members who come to us.

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<v Speaker 3>And book one of these things.

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<v Speaker 2>We're going to put a membership together to reward you,

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<v Speaker 2>so when you book, you get rewards in a wallet

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<v Speaker 2>that you can use across categories. So we actually think

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<v Speaker 2>that that will be very attractive and get many more

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<v Speaker 2>people coming to us direct.

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<v Speaker 1>Matt, appreciate you stopping by. Matt Goldberg is the CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of trip Advisor.