In a move that has sparked fresh speculation around TripAdvisor’s (NASDAQ:TRIP) future, activist investor Starboard Value has disclosed a 9% stake in the online travel giant, making it one of the company’s largest shareholders. This investment comes at a time when TripAdvisor has undergone significant structural and operational changes—including the buyout of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, the elimination of its dual-class share structure, and the sharpening of its strategy around AI, direct bookings, and marketplace economics. Starboard, known for its aggressive pursuit of value in underperforming companies, appears to see hidden potential in TripAdvisor despite the company’s flat stock performance and recent revenue headwinds. Let us analyze the biggest reasons why Starboard’s investment may signal a broader shift in the company's trajectory—and what it could mean for shareholders, management, and the competitive landscape in travel tech.
Structural Simplification & Governance Overhaul Unlocks Activist Leverage
One of the most significant recent changes at TripAdvisor was the completion of its buyout of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, which had long served as its controlling shareholder. With that transaction now finalized, TripAdvisor has eliminated its dual-class share structure and retired approximately 17% of its outstanding shares, making it more accessible to external investors and activist firms like Starboard. The simplification of the capital structure is more than cosmetic; it removes a major impediment to shareholder influence and corporate transparency, thereby opening the door for board reshuffling, capital allocation reviews, and strategic direction changes. In tandem with its conversion to a Nevada corporation, these structural changes are designed to streamline governance and decision-making. CEO Matthew Goldberg has acknowledged ongoing efforts to refresh the board and increase operational flexibility, two outcomes typically favored by activists. For Starboard, which has recently gained board seats at Autodesk and Kenvue, the elimination of Liberty’s outsized influence makes TripAdvisor a more fertile ground for change. Whether this means pushing for a sale, spin-offs, or deeper cost restructuring remains to be seen. But the new shareholder base, including Starboard’s $160 million stake, now wields more influence than ever before in shaping TripAdvisor’s future.
Viator’s High-Growth Profile & Path to Profitability Attracts Value Investors
Viator, TripAdvisor’s experiences-focused subsidiary, continues to be the company’s most promising growth driver. In Q1 2025, Viator booked 15% more experiences year-over-year, generated $156 million in revenue (up 10%), and improved its EBITDA margin by 800 basis points despite a net loss. The segment’s ability to balance growth with improving unit economics and repeat usage is especially compelling in a market increasingly focused on profitability. Starboard’s investment likely reflects confidence in Viator’s long-term value creation, especially as it positions itself as a focused OTA (online travel agency) within a highly fragmented supply landscape. Viator's increasing traction in direct bookings, app usage, and third-party partnerships has created a flywheel effect: better conversion fuels lower customer acquisition costs, which in turn drives better margins and more reinvestment capacity. Moreover, with competitors like Airbnb and Booking Holdings renewing their focus on experiences, Starboard may see a strategic window to either grow Viator organically or spin it off to unlock its standalone valuation potential. Given that many of Viator’s third-party distribution deals are immediately profitable and its North American user base remains strong, the segment’s potential contribution to TripAdvisor’s consolidated financials could become increasingly significant, especially if growth in the legacy TripAdvisor brand remains muted.
Monetization Turnaround in Core Hotel Meta & App Strategy Signals Execution Progress
Despite an 8% year-over-year revenue decline in its core TripAdvisor brand, the company surprised the Street with stronger-than-expected EBITDA margins of 30% in Q1 2025. This was driven by higher pricing in Hotel Meta search, following a strategic overhaul of the hotel shopping experience. By shifting away from short-term click arbitrage toward deeper engagement and cross-selling, TripAdvisor has created higher quality traffic for partners and improved monetization. These product changes, including an updated in-app hotel booking interface and integrated AI-powered trip planner, suggest that Goldberg’s long-term engagement-centric roadmap is beginning to bear fruit. Early signals from the app relaunch—including improved conversion and longer user sessions—offer further support to the idea that TripAdvisor is evolving into a more durable, data-rich platform. For an activist like Starboard, the potential to extract higher margins from TripAdvisor’s largest traffic channel presents an actionable near-term lever. Moreover, the shift to in-app bookings, loyalty programs, and personalized trip planning could open the door to a recurring revenue model if managed effectively. As Goldberg positions the app as a cross-category travel companion, this transition from a historically media-heavy business to a full-stack marketplace aligns with investor interest in long-term monetization potential.
AI Strategy & Data Asset Monetization Provide Long-Term Optionality
TripAdvisor has embraced AI across its ecosystem—from Viator and TheFork to the flagship TripAdvisor brand—leveraging its first-party behavioral data, clickstream information, and user-generated content to improve recommendations, booking conversion, and fraud detection. The company’s partnerships with OpenAI (Operator), Amazon (Alexa), Microsoft (Azure AI Marketplace), and Perplexity.ai suggest a multi-front strategy to monetize its data and integrate with emerging AI-first platforms. While early in execution, these experiments provide two potential strategic avenues: (1) direct monetization via licensing or AI-enhanced advertising; and (2) improved customer experience via dynamic, personalized planning tools. With travel startups increasingly focused on AI trip planning, TripAdvisor’s scale—combined with its authentic review corpus—may give it a moat that pure-play AI entrants lack. For Starboard, these assets represent a long-term call option that could pay off if TripAdvisor becomes a trusted AI intermediary or even an acquisition target for larger tech or travel players looking to gain a data advantage. The fact that TripAdvisor’s AI-generated review summaries, fraud tools, and itinerary builders are already deployed across multiple surfaces may indicate early operational leverage. Activists tend to focus on hidden value or misunderstood assets, and the company’s data platform—currently under-monetized—may be a central part of Starboard’s thesis.
Final Thoughts
Source: Yahoo Finance
The news regarding Starboard Value’s 9% stake in TripAdvisor resulted in the stock jumping over 16% on the news, indicating investor optimism about a potential shake-up. This news definitely underscores renewed investor interest in the travel platform amid its operational turnaround, simplified governance, and deepening exposure to scalable marketplaces. While the company still faces macroeconomic headwinds and pressure on legacy revenue streams, progress in its hotel monetization strategy, the rising trajectory of Viator, and robust AI experimentation offer multiple levers for future value creation. At the same time, potential risks remain—ranging from volatile booking trends to execution hurdles in competitive categories like restaurants and travel experiences. It is to be seen what changes take place within the company after Starboard’s latest investment.