Textbook Fail in Corporate Culture - Associate Director Tripadvisor Employee Review

2.0
9 Mar 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Trip team is sitting on incredible, unrealized brand value. This kind of brand naturally attracts passionate, smart, fun, hardworking do-good people. I believe those people will always be attracted to Tripadvisor brand, despite the frequent chaos, fragmentation, in-fighting, human churn, etc. – great humans will always be a part of this company's culture mix.

Cons

Sadly, our CEO, Steve Kaufer, subscribes to your everyday run of the mill failing corporate culture. It's a feat to cultivate a decaying environment with a brand that has such wonderful and energetic natural momentum as Tripadvisor. During my 4 years at the company I reserved judgment of our CEO until now. Even though I witnessed an absurd level of micromanagement; the do-it-instantly and for $0 fires; and worse, the eyebrow-raising and inhuman approach to his customers and his people internally. There are so many great people here, and we're in it together, aware of the situation. Even though it stifles our innovation and career ambitions, we hold out hope. Maybe soon the board will decide there is a suitable replacement leader? One that can bring vision, inspiration, empathy, equity and diversity, and focus on our customers, which have been putting absurdly high $ into Steve Kaufer's pocket over the years. He showed us quite clearly with the January layoffs of 200+ people that his numbers were more important than his people. Of course it was obvious for us all along. Our greedy approach to our customers was backward and would be our downfall. Now, on the precipice of company contraction due to the global coronavirus, his $-first-people-last tactics are in full force.

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Tripadvisor Response
6y
Thank you for taking the time to share your candid feedback. We appreciate that you highlighted the strength of our people, for it really is our employees that make Tripadvisor a great place to work. During this period of transition, all of our leaders, including Steve, are doing their best to remain transparent. They’re working together across all areas of the business to create a strategy that considers the needs of the business as well as the needs of our employees.

Explore other reviews about Tripadvisor

5.0
18 Jan 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
4mo
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
21 Jun 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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