TripAdvisor, Inc. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-35362

TRIPADVISOR, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

400 1st Avenue

Needham, MA 02494

(Address of principal executive office) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(781) 800-5000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attention to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the common stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $4,251,470,181 based on the closing price on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on such date. For the purpose of the foregoing calculation only, all directors and executive officers of the registrant are assumed to be affiliates of the registrant.

Table of Contents

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We refer to Tripadvisor, Inc. and our wholly-owned subsidiaries as “Tripadvisor,” “the Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this Annual Report that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. The following words, when used, are intended to identify forward-looking statements: “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “result,” “should,” “will,” and similar expressions which do not relate solely to historical matters. We caution investors that any forward-looking statements in this report, or which management may make orally or in writing from time to time, are based on management’s beliefs and on assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance, which may be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements are more fully described in Part I. Item 1A. "Risk Factors." Moreover, we operate in a rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We caution you that, while forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs when we make them, they are not guarantees of future performance and are impacted by actual events when they occur after we make such statements. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investors should also refer to our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for future periods and current reports on Form 8-K as we file them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and to other materials we may furnish to the public from time to time through Current Reports on Form 8-K or otherwise.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

Tripadvisor operates the world’s largest travel guidance platform, connecting a global audience of prospective travelers with travel partners through rich content, price comparison tools, and online reservation and related services for destinations, accommodations, travel activities and experiences, and restaurants. Our mission is to help people around the world plan, book and experience the perfect trip.

In 2000, under our flagship brand Tripadvisor, we launched www.Tripadvisor.com in the U.S. Since then, we have built a portfolio of travel guidance brands and businesses, seamlessly connecting travelers to destinations, accommodations, travel activities and experiences, and restaurants in over 40 markets and over 20 languages worldwide. As of December 31, 2021, Tripadvisor featured more than 1 billion reviews and opinions on nearly 8 million hotels and other accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises.

In addition to the flagship Tripadvisor brand, we own and operate a portfolio of online travel brands and businesses, operating under various websites, including the following: www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com, www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.singleplatform.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, and www.viator.com.

Our Industry and Market Opportunity

We operate in the global travel industry, focusing exclusively on online travel and travel-related activity, and the online advertising market. The global travel market (which excludes dining) is expected to reach $1.4 trillion of bookings in 2022, according to Phocuswright, an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm.

As consumer travel media consumption and travel commerce activity has increasingly moved online, we believe travel and travel-related businesses will continue to allocate greater percentages of their marketing budgets to online channels in order to grow their businesses. We serve the needs of both the consumers and travel partners that operate within this market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant negative impact on the travel, hospitality, restaurant, and leisure industries and consequently adversely and materially affected our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Uncertainty continues over travel due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how quickly global travel will recover, and how the future travel experience will be changed and shaped by the pandemic. However, we believe that, while the pandemic could permanently change travel in certain ways, global travel will return to pre-pandemic levels. Consumers want to connect with others, learn about new places and see things they have not seen before. We believe this passion for travel, combined with the need to make informed choices, creates significant long-term growth opportunities for our business.

Our Business Model

On a global scale, we match consumer demand for travel with travel partners that offer accommodations, restaurants and other travel related experiences. Consumers come to the Tripadvisor platform directly via our branded site, www.tripadvisor.com, our mobile app, and through organic and paid search channels for those searching for information on accommodations, tours, activities, attractions and general visitor information for particular locations, and through sites included in our portfolio of brands.

Value Proposition to Consumers

Tripadvisor helps consumers plan, book, and enjoy the trips that matter. Our platform offers consumers access to rich and expansive content, including more than 1 billion traveler reviews and other traveler-generated content such as photos, search and discovery capabilities across a variety of parameters such as location and price, and other informational content that helps drive consumer convenience as they plan and book their perfect trip. We believe this rich content has led Tripadvisor to become a trusted global brand, attracting nearly half a billion monthly unique

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visitors to our platform and influencing a significant amount of travel commerce during peak months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are focused on creating the best online experience in travel planning and booking, making it easier for consumers to research destinations, experiences and restaurants, read and contribute user-generated content (such as reviews and photos), compare destinations and businesses based on quality, price and availability comparisons, and complete bookings powered by our travel partners.

Value Proposition to Travel Partners

The scale of our platform and the traffic to our platform enable our travel partners to be discovered, to advertise, and to sell their services to a global travel audience. These partners may include hotel chains, independent hoteliers, online travel agencies, or OTAs, destination marketing organizations, and other travel-related and non-travel related product and service providers. We enable media advertising opportunities – and in some cases, facilitate transactions between consumers and travel partners in a number of ways, including by sending referrals to our travel partners’ websites, facilitating bookings on behalf of our travel partners, or by serving as the merchant of record – particularly in our Experiences offering – and by offering advertising placements on our platform.

Business and Products

We manage our business based on the following reportable segments: (1) Hotels, Media & Platform and (2) Experiences & Dining.

Our Hotels, Media & Platform segment includes revenue generated from the following sources:

In addition, we also provide business-to-business (“B2B”) offerings, including subscription-based advertising to hotels, owners of B&Bs and other specialty lodging properties, enabling subscribers to advertise their businesses on our platform, as well as manage and promote their website URL, email address, phone number, special offers and other information related to their business. Subscription-based advertising services are predominantly sold for a flat fee for a contracted period of time. We also offer travel partners the opportunity to advertise and promote their business through hotel sponsored placements on our platform, generally on a CPC rate basis.

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Our Experiences & Dining segment includes revenue generated from the following sources:

For the vast majority of experience bookings, we collect the full amount charged to the traveler at the time of booking and remit the operator’s portion after the booked experience occurs, which contributes to positive working capital before the traveler completes the experience.

We also offer travelers Rentals, Flights & Car, and Cruise solutions on our platform which complement our end-to-end travel experience. Revenue generated through these offerings are combined in Other which is not considered a reportable segment. Our Rentals offering provides information and services that allow travelers to research and book vacation and short-term rental properties, including full homes, condominiums, villas, beach properties, cabins and cottages. Rentals primarily generates revenue, a commission from both the traveler and the property owner, by offering individual property owners and property managers the ability to list their rental properties on our platform thereby connecting with travelers primarily through a free-to-list commission-based option. We generally collect payment from the traveler at the time of booking, representing the amount due to the property owner or manager, as well as our commission. These properties are listed on www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.housetrip.com, www.niumba.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, and on our Tripadvisor-branded websites and mobile apps. In addition, we generate revenue from Flights, Cruise, and Car offerings on our platform, which primarily consists of click-based advertising and display-based advertising revenue, similar to our Hotels, Media & Platform segment.

For further information regarding our segments, including the principal revenue streams within these segments and timing of revenue recognition and cashflows, refer to “Note 4: Revenue Recognition” and “Note 20: Segment and Geographic Information” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Seasonality

Consumers’ travel expenditures have historically followed a seasonal pattern. Correspondingly, travel partners’ advertising investments, and therefore our revenue and operating profits, have also historically followed a seasonal pattern. Our financial performance tends to be seasonally highest in the second and third quarters of a given year, which includes the seasonal peak in consumer demand, traveler hotel and rental stays, and travel activities and experiences taken, compared to the first and fourth quarters, which represent seasonal low points. During the first half of the year, experiences and rentals bookings typically exceed the amount of completed experiences and rental

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stays, resulting in higher cash flow related to working capital, while during the second half of the year, particularly in the third quarter, this pattern reverses and cash flows from these transactions are typically negative.

However, as discussed in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Note 1: Organization and Business Description” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K, other factors may also impact typical seasonal fluctuations, which include further significant shifts in our business mix or adverse economic conditions that could result in future seasonal patterns that are different from historical trends. For example, due to the impact of COVID-19 on our business, we did not experience our typical seasonal pattern for revenue and operating profits during the year ended December 31, 2020. COVID-19 contributed significantly to unfavorable working capital trends and material negative operating cash flow during the year ended December 31, 2020, most notably occurring during the first half of 2020, when we typically generate significant positive cash flow.

Although consumer travel demand, traveler hotel and rental stays, and travel activities and experiences taken generally remain materially lower than historic levels, these trends improved during 2021, resulting in increased revenues, and working capital and operating cash flow more akin to typical historical seasonality trends. However, it is difficult to predict the seasonality for 2022, given the sustained uncertainty related to the continued economic and travel impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ultimate shape and timing of a recovery in our key markets. In addition, significant shifts in our business mix or adverse economic conditions could result in future seasonal patterns that are different from historical trends.

Our Long-Term Growth Strategy

The global travel market (which excludes dining) is expected to reach $1.4 trillion of bookings in 2022, according to Phocuswright, an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm. Given we have the world’s largest travel audience, we believe that Tripadvisor’s influence in the travel ecosystem remains significant. Our long-term growth strategy aims to increase consumer engagement on our platform and drive profitable growth through:

We expect to enable our growth through investment in:

Marketing and Competition

Tripadvisor and its partners compete with other companies across numerous verticals within an attractive and rapidly evolving travel industry. In our daily operations, we compete to attract premier travel community-powered

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content (reviews, photos and other forms of engagement), traffic, advertising dollars and, more generally, the purchasing power of high-intent and highly-valuable consumers seeking to book vacations and spend. Since our travel review content and those of our competitors are typically free, we differentiate based on the awareness and trust travelers and diners place in our brands, the quality and nature of our consumer and B2B product offerings and through the choices available through our online travel search and price comparison services (or metasearch). As such, we invest in improving our consumer experience and expanding travel review content (the core offering within our value proposition), the growth of business listings on our platform that provide choice and the diverse range of bookable experiences we provide travelers during their vacations that create lasting memories. Knowing trust in our platform is paramount to our success and the virtues of our network effect, we also invest in leading the internet industry in our trust and safety initiatives, including providing transparency into our traveler review process and our efforts to combat misinformation and false reviews.

We also invest to amplify our global brand and raise consumer awareness of, and engagement with, our end-to-end product offerings. With hundreds of millions of visitors to our platform each year, we leverage a number of cost effective online and offline marketing channels to reach travelers and diners, including our own platform channels (i.e. websites and app), online search engines (primarily Google), social media, email, media via public relations, partnerships, and content distribution. The relative success of our marketing strategy is measurable on these channels, and can be influenced by changes that we and our travel partners and competitors make to our respective products and marketing strategies.

We allocate resources among the different marketing channels based on our internal return on investment measures. We compete globally with both online and offline, established and emerging, providers of travel, hospitality, lodging, experiences (bookable tours, activities, and attractions), and restaurant reservation and related services. The markets for the services we offer are intensely competitive, and current and new competitors can launch new services at a relatively low cost.

We also compete with different types of companies in the various markets and geographies where we operate, including large and small companies in the travel space as well as broader service providers. More specifically:

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Commercial Relationships

We have commercial relationships with a majority of the world’s leading OTAs, as well as thousands of other travel partners, pursuant to which these companies primarily purchase traveler leads from us, generally on a click-based advertising basis. Although these relationships are memorialized in agreements, many of these agreements are for limited terms or are terminable at will or on short notice. As a result, we seek to ensure the mutual success of these relationships.

For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 our two most significant travel partners were Expedia and Booking, each of which accounted for 10% or more of our consolidated revenue and together accounted for approximately 34%, 25% and 33% of our consolidated revenue, respectively. Nearly all of this concentration of revenue is recorded in the Tripadvisor-branded Hotels revenue line within our Hotels, Media & Platform segment for these reporting periods. Additionally, our business is dependent on relationships with third-party service operators that we rely on to fulfill service obligations to our customers where the Company is the merchant of record, such as our experience providers and vacation rental owners. However, no one operator’s inventory resulted in more than 10% of our revenue on a consolidated basis in any period presented.

Operations and Technology

We have assembled a team of highly skilled software engineers, computer scientists, data scientists, network engineers and systems engineers whose expertise spans a broad range of technical areas, including a wide variety of open source operating systems, databases, languages, analytics, networking, scalable web architecture, operations and warehousing technologies. We make significant investments in product and feature development, data management, personalization technologies, scalable infrastructures, networking, data warehousing, and search engine technologies.

Our systems infrastructure for Tripadvisor-branded websites is in a "hybrid-cloud" configuration in which parts of it are housed at a colocation facility and managed by our operations team, while the rest is hosted on Amazon Web Services. Our infrastructure installations have multiple communication links as well as continuous monitoring and engineering support. The colocation facility is protected with both network-level and application-level defenses, using well known commercial solutions specifically tailored for such purposes. We make use of Amazon Web Services availability zones to provide redundancy for the cloud portions of our infrastructure. Substantially all of our software components, data, and content are replicated in multiple datacenters and development centers, as well as backed up at offsite locations. Our systems are monitored and protected though multiple layers of security. Several of our individual subsidiaries and businesses have their own data infrastructure and technology teams.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, trade dress, proprietary technology and trade secrets, is an important component of our business. We rely on our intellectual property rights in our content, proprietary technology, software code, ratings indexes, databases of reviews and forum content. We have acquired some of our intellectual property rights through licenses and content agreements with third parties and these arrangements may place restrictions on the use of our intellectual property.

We protect our intellectual property by relying on our terms of use, confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions, as well as on international, national, federal, state and common law rights. We protect our brands by pursuing the trademark registration of our core brands, as appropriate, maintaining our trademark portfolio, securing contractual trademark rights protection when appropriate, and relying on common law trademark rights when appropriate. We also register copyrights and domain names as deemed appropriate. Additionally, we protect our trademarks, domain names and copyrights with the use of intellectual property licenses and an enforcement program.

We have considered, and will continue to consider, the appropriateness of filing for patents to protect future inventions, as circumstances may warrant. However, many patents protect only specific inventions and there can be

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no assurance that others may not create new products or methods that achieve similar results without infringing upon patents owned by us.

In connection with our copyrightable content, we post and institute procedures under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act and similar “host privilege” statutes worldwide to gain immunity from copyright liability for photographs, text and other content loaded on our platform by consumers. However, differences between statutes, limitations on immunity, political and regulatory efforts to amend relevant statutes, and moderation efforts in the many jurisdictions in which we operate may affect our ability to claim immunity.

From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of our business, including claims of alleged infringement by us of the trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights of third parties. In addition, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any such litigation, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could materially harm our business.

Regulation

We are subject to a number of laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the internet as well as some relating to the travel industry, the vacation rental industry and the provision of travel services. As we continue to expand the reach of our brands into additional international markets and expand our product offerings, we are increasingly subject to additional laws and regulations. This includes laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection, libel and defamation, content, intellectual property, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, consumer protection, taxation, online payment services and competition, among others. These laws and regulations are constantly evolving and can be subject to significant change. Many of these laws and regulations are being tested in courts, and could be interpreted by regulators and courts in ways that could harm our business. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations is often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly-evolving industry in which we operate.

In addition, we provide advertising data and information and conduct marketing activities that are subject to consumer protection laws that regulate unfair and deceptive practices, domestically and internationally, including, in some countries, pricing display requirements, licensing and registration requirements and industry specific value-added tax regimes. The U.S. (as well as individual states), the E.U. (as well as member states) and other countries have adopted legislation that regulates certain aspects of the internet, including online editorial and user-generated content, data privacy, behavioral targeting and online advertising, taxation, and liability for third-party activities. It is difficult to accurately predict how such legislation will be interpreted and applied or whether new taxes or regulations will be imposed on our services, and whether or how we might be affected. Increased regulation of the internet could increase the cost of doing business or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.

We are subject to laws that require protection of user privacy and user data. As our business has evolved, we have begun to receive and store a greater volume of personally identifiable data. This data is increasingly subject to laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world. For example, the E.U., in May 2018, adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which requires companies, including ours, to meet enhanced requirements regarding the handling and storage of personal data. In addition, the State of California adopted the Consumer Privacy Protection Act which became effective January 1, 2020 and also enhances privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California. In addition, similar laws have been adopted or are currently under discussion in other jurisdictions. The enactment, interpretation and application of these laws is still in a state of flux.

Also, on June 23, 2016, the U.K. passed a referendum to exit the E.U., known as Brexit, and the U.K. ceased to be a member of the EU on January 31, 2020. On December 24, 2020, the U.K. and E.U. finalized the terms of the departure. While there continues to be some uncertainty around U.K. and E.U. relations, we do not expect Brexit will have a material impact on our business and results of operations; however, we will likely face new regulations and additional hiring costs, as well as hiring limitations from candidates outside of the U.K.

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Compliance with these laws, rules and regulations has not had, and is not expected to have, a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. However, certain laws and regulations have not historically been applied in the context of online travel companies, so there can be uncertainty regarding how these requirements may relate to our business in the future.

Corporate History, Equity Ownership and Voting Control

Tripadvisor was co-founded in February 2000 by Stephen Kaufer, our current Chief Executive Officer and President. In April 2004, Tripadvisor was acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp, or IAC. In August 2005, IAC spun-off its portfolio of travel brands, including Tripadvisor, into Expedia, at the time a separate newly-formed Delaware corporation. On December 20, 2011 Expedia completed a spin-off of Tripadvisor into a separate publicly-traded Delaware corporation. We refer to this second spin-off transaction as the “Spin-Off.” Following the Spin-Off, on December 21, 2011, Tripadvisor began trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, as an independent public company under the trading symbol “TRIP.”

On December 11, 2012, Liberty Interactive Corporation, or Liberty, purchased an aggregate of approximately 4.8 million shares of common stock of Tripadvisor from Barry Diller, our former Chairman of the Board of Directors and Senior Executive, and certain of his affiliates. As a result, Liberty beneficially owned approximately 18.2 million shares of our common stock and 12.8 million shares of our Class B common stock.

On August 27, 2014, the entire beneficial ownership of our common stock and Class B common stock held by Liberty was acquired by Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc., or LTRIP. Simultaneously, Liberty, LTRIP’s former parent company, distributed, by means of a dividend, to the holders of its Liberty Ventures common stock, Liberty’s entire equity interest in LTRIP. We refer to this transaction as the “Liberty Spin-Off”. As a result of the Liberty Spin-Off, effective August 27, 2014, LTRIP became a separate, publicly traded company holding 100% of Liberty’s interest in Tripadvisor.

As a result of these transactions, and as of December 31, 2021, LTRIP beneficially owned approximately 16.4 million shares of our common stock and 12.8 million shares of our Class B common stock, which constitute approximately 13% of the outstanding shares of common stock and 100% of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock. Assuming the conversion of all of LTRIP’s shares of Class B common stock into common stock, LTRIP would beneficially own approximately 21% of the outstanding common stock. Because each share of Class B common stock is entitled to ten votes per share and each share of common stock is entitled to one vote per share, LTRIP may be deemed to beneficially own equity securities representing nearly 57% of our voting power.

Human Capital Management, Culture and Employees

Employees

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had 2,691 employees. Our number of employees increased approximately 4% when compared to the same period in 2020. Approximately 50%, 35%, and 15% of the Company’s current employees are based in Europe, the U.S., and the rest of world, respectively. Additionally, we use independent contractors to supplement our workforce. We believe we have good relationships with our employees and contractors, including relationships with employees represented by international works councils or other similar organizations.

Talent Acquisition and Development

We believe our employees are essential to our success and that the Company’s success depends on our ability to attract, develop and retain key talent. The skills, experience and industry knowledge of key employees significantly benefit our operations and performance. Competition for qualified personnel is intense, particularly for software engineers, computer scientists, and other technical staff, and constrained labor markets have increased competition for personnel across other parts of our business. The Company's management and Board of Directors oversee various initiatives for talent acquisition, retention and development.

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Our talent philosophy is to both develop talent from within and to strategically recruit key external talent. This approach has yielded a deep understanding among our employee base of our business, our products, and our customers, while adding new employees and ideas in support of our continuous improvement mindset. Our overall talent acquisition and retention strategy is designed to attract and retain diverse and qualified candidates to enable the success of the Company and achievement of our performance goals. We recruit the best people for the job without regard to gender, ethnicity or other protected traits and it is our policy to comply fully with all domestic, foreign and local laws relating to discrimination in the workplace. Our talent acquisition team uses internal and external resources to recruit highly skilled and talented workers, and we encourage employee referrals for open positions.

We support and develop our employees through global training and development programs that build and strengthen employees’ leadership and professional skills. Leadership development includes programs for new leaders as well as programs designed to support more experienced leaders. We also partner with external training organizations to help provide current and future workers with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

It is important that our employees represent a mix of experiences and backgrounds in order to make our company stronger, more innovative and more inclusive. Inclusion is one of our core values, and we have programs in place to promote diversity and inclusion. Our diversity and inclusion initiatives support our goal that everyone throughout the Company is engaged in creating an inclusive workplace. We support inclusion through training on topics including Unconscious Bias and Inclusive Leadership. We also support a network of active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) reflecting many dimensions of diversity across the Company.

Total Rewards

As part of our compensation philosophy, we believe that we must offer and maintain market competitive total rewards programs for our employees in order to attract, motivate and retain superior talent. These programs not only include base wages and incentives in support of our pay for performance culture, but also health, welfare, and retirement benefits.

We design our benefit programs to meet the needs of our employees’ health while managing program costs for escalation rates at or below industry trend factors. Our programs include but are not limited to wellness, mental health services, telemedicine, and partnerships with service providers that support diverse family-care need solutions. We continuously refine, develop and implement proactive health care strategies and solutions that allow us to enhance employee health and well-being while curbing costs.

Refer to “Note 14: Employee Benefit Plans” and “Note 15: Stock Based Awards and Other Equity Instruments” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our 401(k) Plan, our equity award plan and other employee benefit plans.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us. We conduct regular self-assessments and audits to ensure compliance with our health and safety guidelines and regulatory requirements. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored for us the importance of keeping our employees safe and healthy. In response to the pandemic, the Company has taken actions aligned with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect its workforce so they can more safely and effectively perform their work, including, but not limited to:

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Additional Information

We maintain a corporate website at ir.tripadvisor.com. Except as explicitly noted, the information on our website, as well as the websites of our various brands and businesses, is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or in any other filings with, or in any information furnished or submitted to, the SEC.

On our Investor Relations website (http://ir.tripadvisor.com/investor-relations), we provide our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports free of charge. These reports are available on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish these reports to the SEC or publish through press releases, public conference calls and certain webcasts. All documents filed electronically with the SEC (including reports, proxy and information statements and other information) are also available at www.sec.gov. Investors and others should be aware that we use our investor relations website (http://ir.tripadvisor.com/investor-relations) to announce material financial information to our investors as well as communicate with the public about our company, our results of operations and other information.

We post our code of business conduct and ethics, which applies to all employees, including all executive officers, senior financial officers and directors, on our corporate website at www.tripadvisor.com. We intend to disclose any waivers of the code of ethics for our executive officers, senior financial officers or directors, on our corporate website.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

You should consider carefully the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report as they may impact our business, results of operations and/or financial condition. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business, results of operations or financial condition. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

Risk Factors Summary

The following is a summary list of the principal risks that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. For additional information, please refer to the detailed descriptions following the summary.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, a material impact on the travel industry, our company and our financial performance. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused material declines in demand within the travel, hospitality, restaurant and leisure industry that has dampened consumer demand for our products and services and has adversely and materially affected our business and financial performance. The extent and duration of the impact of the pandemic on our business and financial performance is highly uncertain and difficult to predict, as the duration and severity of the pandemic is uncertain and cannot be predicted. While many countries are in the process of vaccinating their residents against COVID-19, the large scale and challenging logistics of distributing the vaccines, adoption rates, as well as uncertainty over the efficacy of the vaccine against new variants of the virus may contribute to delays in economic recovery, particularly for the travel industry. Given the unpredictable and unprecedented nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to estimate with accuracy the short and long-term impact to our future financial performance, but we expect the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects to continue to have a significant adverse impact on our business and financial performance for the foreseeable future.

Further, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of our work force began working remotely and continue to work remotely. While many of our employees are accustomed to working remotely or working with other remote employees, much of our workforce has historically not been remote. Working remotely can give rise to cybersecurity issues, training and compliance issues, or create operational or other challenges as we adjust to a fully-remote workforce, any of which could harm our business.

Declines or disruptions in the travel industry have had a material adverse impact on the Company’s business and financial performance. Our business and financial performance are affected by the health of the worldwide travel industry. As noted above, we expect that COVID-19 will continue to materially adversely impact our business into 2022. Other events beyond our control, such as unusual or extreme weather or natural disasters, travel-related health concerns, restrictions related to travel, trade or immigration policies, wars, sources of political uncertainty, foreign policy changes, regional hostilities, imposition of taxes or surcharges by regulatory authorities, labor unrest or travel-related accidents can disrupt travel globally or otherwise result in declines in travel demand. In addition, the uncertainty of macro-economic factors and their impact on consumer behavior makes it more difficult to forecast industry and consumer trends, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to effectively manage our business. Our financial performance is also subject to global economic conditions and their impact on levels of discretionary consumer spending. Sales of travel services tend to decline or grow more slowly during economic downturns when consumers engage in less discretionary spending, are concerned about unemployment or economic weakness, have reduced access to credit or experience other concerns that reduce their ability or willingness to travel. Leisure travel, in particular, which accounts for a substantial majority of our current business, is dependent on discretionary consumer spending levels.

If we are unable to continue to attract a significant amount of visitors to our platform, to cost-effectively convert these visitors into revenue-generating customers and to continue to engage consumers, our business and financial performance could be harmed. Our traffic and user engagement could be adversely affected by a number of factors including, but not limited to, inability to provide quality content, inventory or supply to our consumers; declines or inefficiencies in traffic acquisition and reduced awareness of our brands. Certain of our competitors have advertising campaigns expressly designed to drive traffic directly to their websites, and these campaigns may negatively impact traffic to our platform. There can be no assurances that we will continue to provide content and products in a manner that meets rapidly changing demand. Any failure to obtain and manage content and products in a cost-effective manner that will engage consumers, or any failure to provide content and products that are perceived as useful, reliable and trustworthy, could adversely affect user experiences and their repeat behavior, reduce traffic to our platform and negatively impact our business and financial performance.

We rely on internet search engines and application marketplaces to drive traffic to our platform, certain providers of which offer products and services that compete directly with ours. If we are unable to drive traffic cost-effectively, traffic to our platform could decline and our business would be negatively affected. The number of consumers we attract to our platform is due in large part to how and where information from, and links to, our platform are displayed on search engine results pages, or SERPs. The display, including rankings, of search results can be affected by a number of factors, many of which are not in our control. Search engines frequently change the logic that determines the placement and display of the results of a user’s search, such that the purchased or algorithmic placement of links to our platform can be negatively affected. A search engine could alter its search algorithms or results causing our websites to place lower in search query results. For example, Google, a significant source of traffic to our platform, frequently promotes its own competing products in its search results, which has

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negatively impacted placement of references to our company and our platform on the SERP. If a major search engine changes its algorithms in a manner that negatively affects the search engine ranking of our websites or those of our travel partners, or if competitive dynamics impact the cost or effectiveness of Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”) or Search Engine Marketing (“SEM”) in a negative manner, our business and financial performance would be adversely affected. Furthermore, our failure to successfully manage our SEO and SEM strategies and/or other traffic acquisition strategies could result in a substantial decrease in traffic to our platform, as well as increased costs to the extent we replace free traffic with paid traffic.

We also rely on application marketplaces, or app stores such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play, to drive downloads of our apps. In the future, Apple, Google or other marketplace operators may make changes that make access to our products more difficult or may limit our access to information that would restrict our ability to provide the best user experience. For example, Google has entered various aspects of the online travel market, including by establishing a flight metasearch product and hotel metasearch product as well as reservation functionality. Our apps may receive unfavorable treatment compared to the promotion and placement of competing apps, such as the order in which they appear within marketplaces. In addition, Apple has announced new features that limit who has access to consumer data, including location information. Similarly, if problems arise in our relationships with providers of application marketplaces, traffic to our platform and our user growth could be harmed.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenue from advertising and any significant reduction in spending by advertisers on our platform could harm our business. Our ability to grow advertising revenue with our existing or new travel partners is dependent in large part on our ability to provide value to them relative to other alternatives. Our ability to provide value to our travel partners depends on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

Any of these or other factors could result in a reduction in demand for our ads, which may reduce the prices we receive for our ads, or cause marketers to stop advertising with us altogether, any of which would negatively affect our revenue and financial results.

Click-based advertising revenue accounts for the majority of our advertising revenue. Our pricing for click-based advertising depends, in part, on competition between advertisers. If our large advertisers become less competitive with each other, merge with each other or with our competitors, focus more on per-click profit than on traffic volume, or are able to reduce CPCs, this could have an adverse impact on our advertising revenue which would, in turn, have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

We rely on a relatively small number of significant travel partners and any reduction in spending by or loss of these partners could seriously harm our business. For the year ended December 31, 2021, our two most significant travel partners, Expedia and Booking (and their subsidiaries), accounted for a combined 34% of total revenue. If any of our significant travel partners were to cease or significantly curtail advertising on our platform, we could experience a rapid decline in our revenue over a relatively short period of time which would have a material impact on our business.

Our business depends on strong brands and any failure to maintain, protect or enhance our brands could hurt our ability to retain and expand our base of consumers and partners, the frequency with which consumers utilize our products and services and our ability to attract travel partners. Our ability to maintain and protect our brands depends, in part, on our ability to maintain consumer trust in our products and services and in the quality, integrity, reliability of usefulness of the content and other information found on our platform. If consumers do not view the content on our platform to be useful and reliable, they may seek other sources to obtain the information they are looking for and may not return to our platform as often or at all. We dedicate significant resources to

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protecting the quality of our content, primarily through our content guidelines, computer algorithms and human moderators that are focused on identifying and removing inappropriate, unreliable or deceptive content.

Media, legal, or regulatory scrutiny of our user content, advertising practices, and other issues may adversely affect our reputation and brand. Negative publicity about our company, including our content, technology and business practices, could diminish our reputation and confidence in our brand, thereby negatively affecting the use of our products and our financial performance. For example, in the past, certain media outlets have alleged that we have improperly filtered or screened reviews, that we have not properly verified reviews, or that we manipulate reviews, ranking and ratings in favor of our advertisers. We expend significant resources to ensure the integrity of our reviews and to ensure that the most relevant reviews are available to our consumers; we do not establish rankings and ratings in favor of our advertisers. Regulatory inquiries or investigations require management time and attention and could result in further negative publicity, regardless of their merits or ultimate outcomes.

In addition, unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our practices relating to privacy and data protection could adversely affect our reputation with our consumers and our travel partners. Such negative publicity also could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of our user base and result in decreased revenue.

Consumer adoption and use of mobile devices creates new challenges. If we are unable to offer compelling products on such devices or continue to operate effectively on these platforms, our business may be adversely affected. Widespread adoption of mobile devices has driven substantial online traffic and commerce to mobile platforms and we anticipate that use of these devices will continue to grow. Our platform, when utilized on mobile phone devices, have historically monetized at a significantly lower rate than desktops and advertising opportunities are more limited on these devices. Additionally, consumer purchasing patterns differ on these devices. For example, accommodation reservations made on a mobile device are generally for shorter lengths of stay and are not made as far in advance. We expect that the ways in which consumers engage with our platform will continue to change over time as consumers increasingly engage via alternative devices.

It is important for us to develop and maintain effective platforms to drive adoption and user engagement by providing consumers with an appealing, easy-to-use experience. As new devices and platforms are continually being released, it is difficult to predict the problems we may encounter in adapting our products and services and we may need to devote significant resources to the creation, support and maintenance of competitive new products. If we are unable to continue to rapidly innovate and create appealing, user-friendly and differentiated offerings and efficiently and effectively advertise on these platforms, we could lose market share and our business, future growth and financial results could be adversely affected.

Our success will also depend on the interoperability of our products with a range of technologies, systems, networks and standards and our ability to create, maintain and develop relationships with key participants in related industries, some of which may be our competitors. For example, Google’s Android, and Apple’s iPhone are the leading smartphones in the world and our products need to synergistically function on their operating systems in order to create a positive user experience on those devices. Yet, Apple has announced privacy features that limit the amount of information we can access about our users operating on the Apple iPhone operating system.

We may not be successful in developing products that operate effectively with these technologies, systems, networks and standards or in creating, maintaining and developing relationships with key participants in related industries. If we experience difficulties or increased costs in integrating our products into alternative devices or if manufacturers do not include our products in their devices, make changes that degrade the functionality of our products, give preferential treatment to competitive products or prevent us from delivering advertising, our user growth and financial results may be harmed.

Any continued or future declines or disruptions in the economy and industries in which we operate could adversely affect our businesses, financial performance and the market price of our common stock. Sales of travel services tend to decline or grow more slowly during economic downturns when consumers engage in less discretionary spending, are concerned about unemployment or economic weakness, have reduced access to credit or experience other concerns that reduce their ability or willingness to travel. The global economy may be adversely impacted by events beyond our control including actual or threatened terrorism, regional hostilities or instability, natural disasters, political instability and health concerns (including epidemics or pandemics), significant increases in energy costs, tightening of credit markets and declines in consumer confidence. The uncertainty of macro-economic factors and their impact on consumer behavior makes it more difficult to forecast industry and consumer

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trends and the timing and degree of their impact on our markets and business, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to effectively manage our business.

Economic downturn and adverse market conditions may also negatively impact our travel partners, our travel partners’ access to capital, cost of capital and ability to meet liquidity needs. These challenges faced in a prolonged economic downturn or deterioration in the travel industry could adversely impact our business, financial performance and share price. The extent and duration of such impacts remain largely uncertain and dependent on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted at this time.

We operate in a competitive global environment and our failure to compete effectively could reduce our market share and harm our financial performance. We compete with different types of companies in the various markets and geographies where we operate, including large and small companies in the travel space as well as broader service providers. We face competition for content, consumers, advertisers, online travel search and price comparison services and online reservations. We compete globally with both online and offline, established and emerging, providers of travel, lodging, experiences and restaurant reservation and related services. Current and new competitors can launch new services at a relatively low cost. More specifically:

There has been a proliferation of new channels through which service providers can offer accommodations, experiences and restaurant reservations. Metasearch services may lower the cost for new companies to enter the market by providing a distribution channel without the cost of promoting the new entrant’s brand to drive consumers directly to its website. Some of our competitors offer a variety of online services and, in some cases, are willing to make little or no profit on a transaction, or offer travel services at a loss, in order to gain market share. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and have more expertise in developing online commerce and facilitating internet traffic as well as larger client bases. They also have the ability to leverage other aspects of their business to enable them to compete more effectively.

In addition, Google and other large, established companies with substantial resources and expertise have launched travel or travel-related search, metasearch and/or reservation booking services and may create additional inroads into online travel. Many of our competitors continue to expand their voice and artificial intelligence capabilities, which may provide them with a competitive advantage in travel.

We compete with certain companies that we also do business with, including certain of our travel partners and related parties. The consolidation of our competitors and travel partners may affect our relative competitiveness and our travel partner relationships. Competition and consolidation could result in higher traffic acquisition costs, reduced margins on our advertising services, loss of market share, reduced customer traffic to our platform and reduced advertising by travel companies on our platform.

We rely on information technology to operate our business and remain competitive, and any failure to adapt to technological developments or industry trends could harm our businesses. Our future success depends on our ability to continuously improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to meet rapidly evolving consumer trends and demands while at the same time maintaining the reliability and integrity of our systems and infrastructure. We may not be able to maintain or replace our existing systems or introduce new technologies and systems as quickly as we would like or in a cost-effective manner. We may not be successful, or as successful as our competitors, in developing technologies and systems that operate effectively across multiple devices and platforms in a way that is appealing to our consumers. Our future success will also depend on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization; new authentication technologies, such as biometrics, distributed ledger and blockchain technologies; new and emerging payment methods, such as cryptocurrencies, Alipay, Paytm and WeChat Pay; artificial intelligence; virtual and augmented reality; and cloud technologies. The emergence of alternative or

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new devices and the emergence of niche competitors who may be able to optimize products, services or strategies for such platforms will require additional investment in technology. New developments in other areas could also make it easier for competitors to enter our markets due to lower up-front technology costs.

If we are unable to adapt to the evolving demands of our customers, we may not remain competitive, and our business and financial performance could suffer. Our competitors are continually developing innovations in services and features. As a result, we are continually working to improve the user experience on our platform in order to engage our consumers and drive user traffic and conversion rates for our travel partners and provide our business partners with the tools they need to succeed. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant resources in developing and marketing these innovations. We can give no assurances that the changes we make will yield the benefits we expect and will not have unintended or adverse impacts. If we are unable to continue offering innovative products and services and quality features that customers want to use, existing customers may become dissatisfied and use competitors’ offerings and we may be unable to attract additional customers, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Our dedication to making the consumer experience our highest priority may cause us to prioritize rapid innovation and consumer experience over short-term financial results. We strive to create the best experience for our consumers. We believe that in doing so we will increase our traffic conversion (i.e., visitors converting into clicks and/or bookings), revenue and financial performance. We have taken actions in the past, and may continue to take actions in the future, that have the effect of reducing our short-term financial results if we believe the actions benefit the overall consumer experience. These decisions may not produce the long-term benefits we expect, new or enhanced products may fail to engage consumers and/or we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to monetize these initiatives, in which case our relationships with consumers and travel partners, and our business and financial performance could be harmed.

We are dependent upon the quality of traffic in our network to provide value to our travel partners, and any failure in our ability to deliver quality traffic and/or the metrics to demonstrate the value of the traffic could have a material and adverse impact on the value of our platform to our travel partners and adversely affect our revenue. We use technology and processes to monitor the quality of the internet traffic that we deliver to our travel partners and have identified metrics to demonstrate the quality of that traffic and identify low quality clicks such as non-human processes, including robots, spiders, the mechanical automation of clicking and other types of invalid clicks or click fraud. Even with such monitoring in place, there is a risk that a certain amount of low-quality traffic will be delivered to such online advertisers. Such low-quality or invalid traffic may be detrimental to our relationships with travel partners and could adversely affect our advertising pricing and revenue.

We rely on assumptions and estimates and data to calculate certain of our key metrics, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business. Certain metrics are key to our business; as both the industry in which we operate and our businesses continue to evolve, so too might the metrics by which we evaluate our businesses. While the calculation of the metrics we use is based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates, our internal tools are not independently verified by a third-party and have a number of limitations; furthermore, our methodologies for tracking these metrics may change over time. For example, a single person may have multiple accounts or browse the internet on multiple browsers or devices, some consumers may restrict our ability to accurately identify them across visits, some mobile apps automatically contact our servers for regular updates with no user action, and we are not always able to capture user information on our platform. As such, the calculations of our unique users may not accurately reflect the number of people actually visiting our platform. If the internal tools we use to track these metrics under-count or over-count performance or contain algorithm or other technical errors, the data we report may not be accurate. We continue to improve upon our tools and methodologies to capture data; however, the improvement of our tools and methodologies could cause inconsistency between current data and previously reported data, which could confuse investors or lead to questions about the integrity of our data. Finally, we may, in the future, identify new or other metrics that enable us to more accurately evaluate our business. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on these metrics.

We rely on the performance of highly skilled personnel and if we are unable to retain or motivate key personnel or hire, retain and motivate qualified personnel our business would be harmed. The contributions of key senior management and the contributions of software engineers and other technology professionals are critical to our overall management and the success of our business. We cannot ensure that we will be able to retain the services

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of our existing key personnel and the loss of one or more of our key personnel, without a suitable replacement, could seriously harm our business. We do not maintain any key person life insurance policies.

Stephen Kaufer, our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and President, is expected to step down from his position in 2022. While our Board has initiated an open search for Mr. Kaufer’s position, we have not yet named a successor. We cannot ensure that we will be able to find a suitable replacement for Mr. Kaufer on the expected timeline. Moreover, leadership transitions can be inherently difficult to manage, and an inadequate transition to a permanent successor may cause disruptions to our business due to, among other things, diverting management's attention or causing a deterioration in morale. Additionally, the ability of a new CEO to quickly expand their knowledge of our business plans, operations and strategies will be critical to their ability to make informed decisions about our strategy and operations. Further, if our new CEO formulates different or changed views, the future strategy and plans of the Company may differ materially from those of the past.

The success of our operations and the quality of our services are also highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel. During 2020, our headcount was reduced by nearly 1,600 employees. During 2021, we saw historic levels of attrition. This reduction in workforce and attrition results in the loss of institutional knowledge, relationships, or expertise for critical roles. This could also have a negative impact on employee morale and productivity, make it more difficult to retain valuable key employees, divert attention from operating our business, create personnel capacity constraints and hamper our ability to grow, develop innovative products and compete, any of which could impede our ability to operate or meet strategic objectives. For employees, we compete with companies that have far greater financial resources than we do as well as companies that promise short-term growth opportunities and/or other benefits. If we do not succeed in attracting well-qualified employees or retaining or motivating existing employees, our business would be adversely affected.

Acquisitions, investments, significant commercial arrangements and/or new business strategies could present new challenges and risks and disrupt our ongoing business. We have acquired, invested in and/or entered into significant commercial arrangements with a number of businesses in the past and our future growth may depend, in part, on future acquisitions, investments, commercial arrangements and/or changes in business strategies. Such endeavors may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the following:

We have in the past invested, and may in the future invest, in privately-held companies. Such investments are inherently risky and our ability to liquidate any such investments is typically difficult. Valuations of such privately-held companies are inherently complex and uncertain due to the lack of liquid market for the companies’ securities. We cannot assure you that these investments will be successful or that such endeavors will result in the realization of the synergies, cost savings and innovation that may be possible within a reasonable period of time, if at all. We could lose the full amount of our investments; any impairment of our investments could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters

We are a global company that operates in many different jurisdictions inside and outside the U.S. and these operations expose us to additional risks. Many regions have different economic conditions, languages, currencies, legislation, regulatory environments, levels of political stability, levels of consumer expectations, and use of the

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internet for commerce. We are subject to risks typical of global businesses, including, but not limited to, the following:

Our strategy includes continued expansion in existing markets and potentially new markets. In addition to the risks mentioned above, international markets have strong local competitors with established brands and travel service providers or relationships that may make expansion in certain markets difficult and costly and take more time than anticipated. In some markets, legal and other regulatory requirements may prohibit or limit participation by foreign businesses, such as by making foreign ownership or management of internet or travel-related businesses illegal or difficult or may make direct participation in those markets uneconomic, which could make our entry or expansion in those markets difficult or impossible, require that we work with a local partner or result in higher operating costs. If we are unsuccessful in expanding in existing and potentially new markets and effectively managing that expansion, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.

We are regularly subject to claims, lawsuits, government investigations, and other proceedings which may result in adverse outcomes and, regardless of the outcome, result in legal costs, diversion of management resources, injunctions or damage awards, and other negative results. It is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in substantial damages, fines or penalties that could adversely affect our business, financial results or financial position. These proceedings could also result in reputational harm, criminal sanctions or consent decrees, the release of confidential information or orders preventing us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services, requiring a change in our business practices. Any of these consequences could adversely affect our business and financial results.

A failure to comply with current laws, rules and regulations or changes to such laws, rules and regulations and other legal uncertainties may adversely affect our business or financial results. Our business and financial results could be adversely affected by unfavorable changes in or interpretations of existing laws, rules and regulations or the promulgation of new laws, rules and regulations applicable to us and our business, including, but not limited to, those relating to internet and online commerce, internet advertising, consumer protection, intermediary liability and data security and privacy. These laws continue to evolve. For example, there is, and will likely continue to be, an increasing number of laws and regulations pertaining to internet and online commerce and liability for information retrieved from or transmitted over the internet. In addition, the growth and development of online commerce may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws and more aggressive enforcement efforts, data privacy and industry-specific laws and regulations. Further, our Rentals business has been and continues to be subject to regulatory developments globally that affect the rental industry, such as (i) statutes or ordinances that prohibit or limit property owners and managers from renting certain properties on a short-term basis, (ii) fair housing or other laws governing whether and how properties may be rented, and (iii) homeowners, condominium and neighborhood associations adopting or considering adopting rules that prohibit or restrict property owners and managers from short-term rentals. Operating in this dynamic regulatory environment requires significant management attention and financial resources. The failure of our businesses to comply with these laws and regulations could result in fines and/or proceedings against us by governmental agencies, regulatory authorities, courts and/or consumers, which, if material, could adversely affect our business and financial results.

The promulgation of new laws, rules and regulations, or new interpretations of existing laws, rules and regulations, could require us to change certain aspects of our business, operations and relationships to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for services, reduce revenues, increase costs and/or subject the Company to additional liabilities. For example, many jurisdictions have adopted, and many jurisdictions are considering adopting, privacy rights and consumer protections for their residents, which legislation will continue to change the landscape for the use and protection of data and could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services.

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Unfavorable changes could limit marketing methods and capabilities, decrease demand for products and services, impede development of new products, require significant management time, increase costs and/or subject us to additional liabilities. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in penalties, criminal sanctions and/or negative publicity against us, our officers or our employees and/or restrictions on the conduct of our business.

We face risks related to our intellectual property. We rely on content, brands and technology, much of which is proprietary. We protect our content, brands and technology by, among other things, a combination of maintenance and enforcement of registered and unregistered intellectual property rights (e.g. trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets), technological solutions and contractual protections. Even with these precautions, it may be possible for another party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property, without authorization or to independently develop similar content, brands or technology. Any misappropriation or violation of our rights could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every jurisdiction in which our platform or services are made available and policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and expensive. Therefore, in certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to adequately protect our intellectual property against unauthorized third-party copying or use. We cannot be sure that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property. Furthermore, we may need to go to court or other tribunals in order to enforce our rights or scope of the proprietary rights of others. These proceedings might result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention and we cannot accurately predict the likelihood of success in such proceedings. Our failure to protect our intellectual property in an effective manner could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We currently license some of the intellectual property displayed on our platform from third parties. As we continue to introduce new services that incorporate new intellectual property, we may be required or elect to license additional intellectual property. We cannot be sure that such licenses will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

From time to time, in the ordinary course of our business, we have been subject to, and are currently subject to, legal proceedings and claims relating to third-party intellectual property rights, and we expect that third parties will continue to assert intellectual property claims against us, particularly as we expand the complexity and scope of our platform and services. Successful intellectual property claims against us could result in significant monetary liability or prevent us from operating our business, or portions of our business, or require us to change business practices or develop non-infringing intellectual property, which could require significant effort and expense. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to obtain releases or licenses to use intellectual property rights belonging to third-parties, which may be expensive to procure, or possibly to cease using those rights altogether. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Increased focus on our environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") responsibilities have and will likely continue to result in additional costs and risks, and may adversely impact our reputation, employee retention, and willingness of customers and partners to do business with us. Institutional, individual, and other investors, proxy advisory services, regulatory authorities, consumers and other stakeholders are increasingly focused on ESG practices of companies. The standards for tracking and reporting on ESG matters and disclosure frameworks are relatively new, have not been harmonized, and continue to evolve. Ensuring there are systems and processes in place to comply with the various ESG tracking and reporting obligations will require management time and expense. As we look to respond to evolving standards for identifying, measuring, and reporting ESG metrics, our efforts may result in a significant increase in costs and may nevertheless not meet investor or other stakeholder expectations and evolving standards or regulatory requirements, which may negatively impact our financial results, our reputation, our ability to attract or retain employees, our attractiveness as a service provider, investment, or business partner, or expose us to government enforcement actions, private litigation, and actions by stockholders or stakeholders.

Risks Related to Data Security and Privacy

Our processing, storage and use of personal information and other data subjects us to additional laws and regulations and failure to comply with those laws and regulations could give rise to liabilities. The security of data when engaging in electronic commerce is essential to maintaining consumer and service provider confidence in our services. We are subject to a variety of laws in the U.S. and abroad regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, processing, disclosure and protection of personal information, the scope of which are changing, subject to differing

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interpretations, and may be inconsistent between countries or conflict with other existing laws. The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is currently in flux and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. In addition, practices regarding the collection, use, storage, transmission and security of personal information by companies operating over the internet have recently come under increased public scrutiny.

Implementing and complying with these laws and regulations may be more costly or take longer than we anticipate, or could otherwise affect our operations. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy and information security policies, privacy-related obligations to consumers or other third parties, or privacy-related legal obligations, may result in litigation or governmental enforcement actions that could harm our reputation and cause our consumers and travel partners to lose trust in us, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, brand, market share and financial results.

We are subject to risks associated with processing credit card and other payment transactions and failure to manage those risks may subject us to fines, penalties and additional costs and could have a negative impact on our business. We accept payments from consumers and travel partners using a variety of methods, including credit, debit and invoicing. We are subject to regulations and compliance requirements, including obligations to implement enhanced authentication processes. We rely on third parties to provide certain payment methods and payment processing services and our business could be disrupted if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements, and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. We are also subject to a number of other laws and regulations relating to payments, money laundering, international money transfers and privacy and information security. These laws, regulations and/or requirements result in significant costs and, yet, we may still be susceptible to fraudulent activity or cyber-threats. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements or if our data security systems are breached or compromised, we may be liable for card issuing banks’ costs, subject to fines, penalties and higher transaction fees, and/or lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments, process electronic funds transfers, or facilitate other types of online payments. In addition, for certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower profitability.

Additionally, our marketplace activities in the U.K. and Europe require us to obtain a payment institution license under the Second Payment Services Directive (“PSD2”) which replaced the Payment Services Directive (“PSD”) effective January 13, 2018. PSD2 requires a license to perform certain defined “payment services” in a European Economic Area (“EEA”) member state. Conditions for obtaining the license include minimum capital requirements, establishment of procedures for safeguarding of funds, and certain governance and reporting requirements. Certain obligations relating to internal controls and the conduct of business, in particular, consumer disclosure requirements and certain rules regarding the timing and settlement of payments, must be met.

It is possible that we could become subject to regulatory enforcement or other proceedings in those states or other jurisdictions with money transmission, or other similar statutes or regulatory requirements, including an EEA member state, related to the handling or moving of money, which could in turn have a significant impact on our business, even if we were to ultimately prevail in such proceedings. If we are ultimately deemed to be in violation of one or more money transmitter or other similar statutes or regulatory requirements related to the handling or moving of money in the U.S., the EEA or other jurisdictions, we may be subject to the imposition of fines or restrictions on our business, our ability to offer some or all of our services in the relevant jurisdiction may be suspended, and we may be subject to civil or criminal liability and our business, results of operations and financial position could be materially adversely affected.

System security issues, data protection breaches, cyberattacks and system outage issues could disrupt our operations or services provided to our consumers, and any such disruption could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial results and share price. Our reputation and ability to attract, retain and service our consumers and travel partners is dependent upon the reliable performance and security of our computer systems and those of third parties we utilize in our operations. Significant security issues, data breaches, cyberattacks and outages, interruptions or delays, in our systems or third-party systems upon which we rely, could impair our ability to display content or process transactions and significantly harm our business. Breaches of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us, our consumers or our travel partners, could expose us, our consumers and travel partners to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business and financial performance and could result in government enforcement actions and

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litigation and potential liability for us. The costs of enhancing infrastructure to attain improved stability and redundancy may be time consuming and expensive and may require resources and expertise that are difficult to obtain. In addition, to the extent that we do experience a data breach, remediation may be costly and we may not have adequate insurance to cover such costs.

Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms, ransomware and other malicious software programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any vulnerabilities in our systems, or attempt to fraudulently induce our employees, consumers, or others to disclose passwords or other sensitive information or unwittingly provide access to our systems or data. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we produce or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the system. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to investigate and address problems caused by cyber or other security problems. Failure to adequately protect against attacks or intrusions, whether for our own systems or systems of vendors, could expose us to security breaches that could have an adverse impact on our financial performance.

Much of our business is conducted with third-party partners and vendors. A security breach at such third-party could be perceived by consumers as a security breach of our systems and could result in negative publicity or reputational damage, expose us to risk of loss or litigation and subject us to regulatory penalties and sanctions. In addition, such incidents may also result in a decline in our user base and client base or engagement levels.

Media coverage of data breaches and public exposure of consumer data rights has increased, in part because of the rise of enforcement actions, investigations and lawsuits. Similarly, the increase in privacy activist groups is likely to give rise to further scrutiny, investigative actions and publicity. Security breaches could result in negative publicity, damage to reputation, exposure to risk of loss and possible liability due to regulatory penalties and sanctions. As this focus and attention on privacy and data protection increases, we also risk exposure to potential liabilities and costs resulting from the compliance with, or any failure to comply with, applicable legal requirements, conflicts among these legal requirements or differences in approaches to privacy and security. Security breaches could also cause travelers and consumers to lose confidence in our data security, which would have a negative effect on the value of our brand.

Evolving regulations, guidance and practices on the use of "cookies" and similar technology could negatively impact the way we do business. Cookies, or text files stored on consumers’ web browsers, are common tools used by thousands of websites and apps, including ours, to store or gather information, improve site security, improve the customer experience, market to consumers and increase conversion on their websites. Many countries have adopted data protection laws and regulations governing the use of cookies and other similar tracking technologies by websites and app developers. Such regulations could limit our ability to serve certain customers in the manner we currently do, including with respect to retargeting or personalized advertising, impair our ability to improve and optimize performance on our platform, negatively affect a consumer's experience using our platform and negatively impact our business. Equally, privacy has been the impetus behind a move towards a cookie-less online ecosystem which poses a potential risk to our online behavioral advertising strategy. For example, Apple and Google continue to announce new privacy features that may limit our ability to use cookies and similar technology to improve the consumer experience.

Risks Related to Financial Matters

We have indebtedness which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. With respect to the 2025 Senior Notes and 2026 Senior Notes, we are subject to risks relating to our existing or potential indebtedness that include:

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Failure to comply with the various covenants contained in our Credit Agreement and the 2025 Indenture could have a material adverse effect on our business. The various covenants contained in the Credit Agreement and 2025 Indenture include those that limit our ability to, among other things:

These covenants may limit our ability to optimally operate our business. Any failure to comply with the restrictions of our Credit Facility or our 2025 Senior Notes and 2026 Senior Notes may result in an event of default under the agreements governing such debt instruments and such default may allow the creditors to accelerate the debt incurred thereunder. In addition, lenders under the Credit Facility may be able to terminate any commitments they had made to supply us with further funds.

We may have future capital needs and may not be able to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms. Pursuant to the Credit Facility, we agreed to pledge substantially all of our assets, including the equity interests of our subsidiaries. This agreement also includes restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to secure additional financing in the future on favorable terms, if at all. Our ability to secure additional financing will also depend upon our future operating performance, which is subject to then prevailing general economic and credit market conditions, and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

We are subject to risks relating to our 2026 Senior Notes. During the first quarter of 2021, we adopted new accounting guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) which simplifies the accounting for convertible debt instruments by reducing the number of accounting models and the number of embedded conversion features that could be recognized separately from the primary contract. The new accounting guidance requires a convertible debt instrument to be accounted for as a single liability measured at its amortized cost, as long as no other features require bifurcation and recognition as derivatives. The new accounting guidance, among other things, requires an entity to use the if-converted method in the diluted earnings per share calculation for convertible instruments. Under the if-converted method, diluted earnings per share would generally be calculated assuming that all the notes were exchanged solely into shares of common stock at the beginning of the reporting period, unless the result would be anti-dilutive. The application of the if-converted method may reduce our reported diluted earnings per share, if any.

Furthermore, if any of the conditions to the conversion of the 2026 Senior Notes is satisfied, then we may be required under applicable accounting standards to reclassify the liability carrying value of the 2026 Senior Notes as a current, rather than a long-term, liability. This reclassification could be required even if no noteholders exchange their 2026 Senior Notes and could materially reduce our reported working capital.

Holders of our 2026 Senior Notes may convert the 2026 Senior Notes after the occurrence of certain dates or events. Refer to “Note 10: Debt” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our 2026 Senior Notes. Settlement of the 2026 Senior Notes could adversely affect our liquidity.

We are subject to risks relating to the Capped Calls. In connection with the issuance of the 2026 Senior Notes, we entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions (the “Capped Calls”) to reduce potential dilution to our common stock and/or offset cash payments we must make in excess of the principal amount, in each case, upon any conversion of Senior Notes, with such offset subject to a cap. We are subject to the risk that one or more of the hedge counterparties may default under the Capped Calls. If any of the hedge counterparties become subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under our transactions with such counterparties. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, the increase in our exposure will be correlated to the increase in the market price and in the volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by a hedge counterparty, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock.

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Our financial results are difficult to forecast; they have fluctuated in the past and will likely fluctuate in the future. Our financial results in any given quarter can be influenced by numerous factors, many of which we are unable to predict or are outside of our control, including:

As a result, you should not rely upon our quarterly financial results as indicators of future performance.

If we are unable to successfully maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and our business and our share price may be adversely impacted. As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and our management is required to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of each fiscal year. If we are not successful in maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, there could be inaccuracies or omissions in the financial information we file with the SEC. Additionally, even if there are no inaccuracies or omissions, we could be required to publicly disclose our management’s conclusion that our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures are not effective. These events could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, result in increased costs to remediate any deficiencies, attract regulatory scrutiny or lawsuits that could be costly to resolve and distract management’s attention, limit our ability to access the capital markets, adversely impact our stock price, or cause our stock to be delisted from The Nasdaq or any other securities exchange on which we are then listed.

Risks Related to Tax Matters

Our effective income tax rate is impacted by a number of factors that could have a material impact on our financial results and could increase the volatility of those results. Due to the global nature of our business, we are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and other foreign jurisdictions. In the event we incur taxable income in certain jurisdictions but incur losses in other jurisdictions, we generally cannot offset the income from one jurisdiction with the loss from another. This lack of flexibility could affect our effective income tax rate. Furthermore, significant judgment is required to calculate our worldwide provision for income taxes and depends on our ability to operate our business in a manner consistent with our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Our future income tax rates could be affected by a number of matters outside of our control, including but not limited to changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets or accounting for share-based compensation. If our effective income tax rates were to increase, our financial results and cash flows would be adversely affected.

Application of U.S. state and local or international tax laws, changes in tax laws or tax rulings, or the examination of our tax positions, could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. As an international business, we are subject to income taxes and non-income-based taxes in the U.S. and various other international jurisdictions. Tax laws are subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the laws

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are issued or applied. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates and tax regimes may be subject to significant change and the tax benefits that we intend to eventually derive could be undermined due to changing tax laws. Governments are increasingly focused on ways to increase tax revenues, which has contributed to more aggressive positions taken by tax authorities and an increase in tax legislation. Any such additional taxes or other assessments may be in excess of our current tax provisions or may require us to modify our business practices in order to reduce our exposure to additional taxes going forward, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any changes to international tax laws or any additional reporting requirements may increase the complexity and costs associated with tax compliance and adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project and has issued various reports, guidelines, policy notes, and proposals that if adopted could result in an overhaul of the international taxation system under which our current tax obligations are determined. In October 2021, more than 130 countries tentatively signed on to a framework, expected to be implemented in 2023, which calls for a minimum tax rate on corporations of 15% and a reallocation of profits from the largest and most profitable businesses to countries where they make sales. The proposed framework, once enacted, envisages new international tax rules and the removal of all digital services taxes. As this framework is subject to further negotiation and implementation by each member country, the timing and ultimate impact of any such changes on our tax obligations is uncertain. As the OECD/G20 continues to drive toward a consensus framework, several countries which have previously enacted unilateral digital services tax initiatives, such as France, Italy, Spain, and the U.K., will continue to impose these revenue based taxes until implementation of the consensus framework. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we recorded $1 million and $2 million, respectively, of digital service tax to general and administrative expense on our consolidated statements of operations.

We are routinely under audit by federal, state and foreign taxing authorities. The ultimate outcome of these examinations (including the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS") audit described below) cannot be predicted with certainty but could be materially different from our income tax provisions and accruals and could have a material effect on our results of operations or cash flows in the period or periods for which that determination is made. Should the IRS or other taxing authorities assess additional taxes as a result of examinations, we may be required to record charges to our results of operations, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

Changes in the tax treatment of companies engaged in e-commerce may adversely affect the commercial use of our platform and our financial results. Tax authorities at the international, federal, state and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in e-commerce and it is possible that various jurisdictions may attempt to levy additional or new sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. For example, Congress is considering various approaches to legislation that would require companies engaged in e-commerce to collect sales tax on internet revenue and a growing number of U.S. states and certain foreign jurisdictions have adopted or are considering proposals to impose obligations on remote sellers and online marketplaces to collect taxes on their behalf. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., in which a Court reversed longstanding precedent that remote sellers are not required to collect state and local sales taxes, may have an adverse impact on our business. Also, as described in more detail above, certain U.S. states and countries in which we do business have enacted or proposed digital services tax initiatives. New or revised international, federal, state or local tax regulations or court decisions may subject us or our customers to additional sales, occupancy, income and other taxes. We cannot predict the effect of these and other attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on e-commerce; however, new or revised taxes and, in particular, sales taxes, occupancy taxes, value added taxes (“VAT”), and similar taxes would likely increase the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of selling products and services over the internet. New taxes could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial results and financial condition.

Taxing authorities may successfully assert that we should have collected or in the future should collect sales and use, occupancy, VAT or similar taxes, and we could be subject to liability with respect to past or future sales, which could adversely affect our operating results. We do not collect and remit sales and use, occupancy, VAT or similar taxes in all jurisdictions in which we have sales, based on our belief that such taxes are not applicable or legally required. Several states and other taxing jurisdictions have presented or threatened us with assessments, alleging that we are required to collect and remit certain taxes there. While we do not believe that we are subject to such taxes and intend to vigorously defend our position in these cases, we cannot be sure of the

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outcome of our discussions and/or appeals with these states. In the event of an adverse outcome, we could face assessments, plus any additional interest and penalties. We also expect additional jurisdictions may make similar assessments or pass similar new laws in the future, and any of the jurisdictions where we have sales may apply more rigorous enforcement efforts or take more aggressive positions in the future that could result in greater tax liability allegations. Such tax assessments, penalties and interest or future requirements may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We continue to be subject to significant potential tax liabilities in connection with the Spin-Off. Under the Tax Sharing Agreement between us and Expedia entered into in connection with the Spin-Off, we are generally required to indemnify Expedia for any taxes resulting from the Spin-Off (and any related interest, penalties, legal and professional fees, and all costs and damages associated with related stockholder litigation or controversies). We continue to be responsible for potential tax liabilities in connection with consolidated income tax returns filed with Expedia prior to or in connection with the Spin-Off. By virtue of previously filed consolidated tax returns with Expedia, we are currently under IRS audit for the 2009, 2010, and short-period 2011 tax years and, in connection with that audit, have received Notices of Proposed Adjustment from the IRS which would result in an increase in our worldwide income tax expense. We have requested competent authority assistance under the Mutual Agreement Procedure (“MAP”) for tax years 2009 through 2011. We expect the competent authorities to present a resolution for the 2009 through 2011 tax years in the near future. Upon receipt, we will assess the resolution provided by the competent authorities as well as its impact on our existing income tax reserves for all open subsequent years. The outcome of these matters or any other audits could subject us to significant tax liabilities. Refer to “Note 12: Income Taxes” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on this IRS audit.

We face risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. As a result, we face exposure to movements in foreign currency exchange rates including, but not limited to, re-measurement of gains and losses from changes in the value of foreign denominated assets and liabilities; translation gains and losses on foreign subsidiary financial results that are translated into U.S. dollars upon consolidation; and planning risk related to changes in exchange rates between the time we prepare our annual and quarterly forecasts and when actual results occur. For example, in the event that one or more European countries were to replace the Euro with another currency, our sales into such countries, or into Europe generally, would likely be adversely affected until stable exchange rates are established. Accordingly, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, such as the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Euro or the British pound, could adversely affect our net revenue growth in future periods.

In the event of severe volatility in exchange rates, the impact of these exposures can increase and the impact on results of operations can be more pronounced. In addition, the current environment and the increasingly global nature of our business have made hedging these exposures more complex. We hedge certain short-term foreign currency exposures with the purchase of forward exchange contracts. These forward exchange contracts only help mitigate the impact of changes in foreign currency rates that occur during the term of the related contract period and carry risks of counter-party failure. There can be no assurance that our forward exchange contracts will have their intended effects.

Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Stock

Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. currently is a controlling stockholder. Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc., or LTRIP, effectively controls the outcome of all matters submitted to a vote or for the consent of our stockholders (other than with respect to the election by the holders of our common stock of 25% of the members of our Board of Directors and matters as to which Delaware law requires separate class votes). Our Chairman, Gregory Maffei, and Directors Greg O’Hara and Albert Rosenthaler, also serve as officers and directors of LTRIP. LTRIP may have interests that differ from those of our other stockholders and may vote in a way with which our other stockholders may not agree or that may be adverse to other stockholders’ interests. LTRIP is not restricted from investing in other businesses related to our business. LTRIP’s control of us, as well as the provisions of our organizational documents and Delaware law, may discourage or prevent a change of control that might otherwise be beneficial, which may reduce the market price of our common stock.

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The market price and trading volume of our common stock has experienced, and could continue to experience in the future, substantial volatility. The market price of our common stock is affected by a number of factors, including:

In the past, the stock market has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations and general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, interest rate changes or foreign currency exchange fluctuations, may negatively impact the market price of our common stock regardless of our actual operating performance.

We are currently relying on the “controlled company” exemption under Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rules, pursuant to which “controlled companies” are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements otherwise applicable under Nasdaq listing rules. The Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rules exempt “controlled companies,” or companies of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company, from certain corporate governance requirements. We currently rely on the controlled company exemption for certain of the above requirements, including the requirement that director nominees be selected or recommended to the Board of Directors by a majority of its independent directors or by a nominating committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. Accordingly, our stockholders will not be afforded the same protections generally as stockholders of other Nasdaq-listed companies with respect to corporate governance for so long as we rely on these exemptions from the corporate governance requirements.

We do not pay regular quarterly or annual cash dividends on our stock. Any determination to pay dividends is at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. Therefore, investors should not rely on regular quarterly or annual dividend income from shares of our common stock and investors should not rely on special dividends with any regularity or at all.

Future sales of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, may depress our stock price. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, particularly sales by our directors, officers, employees and significant stockholders, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impact our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional securities. In addition, certain stockholders have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. A decline in the price of shares of our common stock might impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or other equity securities.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and Delaware law may discourage or prevent a change of control, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, which could affect our stock price adversely and prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

These provisions include:

These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our Board of Directors or initiate actions that are

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opposed by our then-current Board of Directors, including a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our Board of Directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

As of December 31, 2021, we do not own any real estate. We lease approximately 280,000 square feet of office space for our corporate headquarters in Needham, Massachusetts, or Headquarters Lease. Our Headquarters Lease, has an expiration date of December 2030, with an option to extend the lease term for two consecutive terms of five years each. We also lease an aggregate of approximately 430,000 square feet of office space at approximately 35 locations across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and South America, in cities such as New York, London, Sydney, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Paris, primarily used as sales offices, subsidiary headquarters, and for international operations, pursuant to leases with various expiration dates. We believe that our current facilities are adequate for our current operations and that additional leased space can be obtained on reasonable terms if needed.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Refer to “Note 13: Commitments and Contingencies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for further information on our legal proceedings. For an additional discussion of certain risks associated with legal proceedings, see “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A on this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock is quoted on The Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “TRIP.” Our Class B common stock is not listed and there is no established public trading market for that security. As of February 11, 2022, all of our Class B common stock was held by LTRIP.

Performance Comparison Graph

The following graph provides a comparison of the total stockholder return from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2021, of an investment of $100 in cash on December 31, 2016 for Tripadvisor, Inc. common stock and an investment of $100 in cash on December 31, 2015 for (i) the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), (ii) The Nasdaq Composite Index, and (iii) the Research Data Group (“RDG”) Internet Composite Index. The RDG Internet Composite Index is an index of stocks representing the internet industry, including internet software and service companies and e-commerce companies. The stock price performance shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. Data for the S&P 500 Index, The Nasdaq Composite Index, and the RDG Internet Composite Index assume reinvestment of dividends.

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This performance comparison graph is not “soliciting material,” is not deemed filed with the SEC and is not deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Tripadvisor, Inc. under the Securities Act or any filing under the Exchange Act.

Holders of Record

As of February 11, 2022, there were 125,873,185 outstanding shares of our common stock held by 1,916 stockholders of record, and 12,799,999 outstanding shares of our Class B common stock held by one stockholder of record: LTRIP.

Dividends

While the Company did pay a special cash dividend of $3.50 per share to stockholders, or approximately $488 million in the aggregate, on December 4, 2019, we did not declare or pay any dividends during the years ended December 31, 2021 or 2020. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. In addition, our ability to pay dividends was also limited by the terms of our Credit Agreement and our 2025 Indenture. Therefore, investors should not rely on regular quarterly or annual dividend income from shares of our common stock and investors should not rely on special dividends with any regularity, or at all. Investors should rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize future gains on their investments.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2022 Proxy Statement, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, we did not issue or sell any shares of our common stock, Class B common stock or other equity securities pursuant to unregistered transactions in reliance upon an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

In March 2021, we completed the sale of $345 million of 2026 Senior Notes. Refer to “Note 10: Debt” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about our 2026 Senior Notes.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock under our existing share repurchase program. As of December 31, 2021, we had $75 million remaining available to repurchase shares of our common stock under our previously authorized share repurchase program.

While the Board of Directors has not suspended or terminated the share repurchase program, the terms of our Credit Agreement limit the Company from engaging in share repurchases and the terms of our 2025 Indenture related to our 2025 Senior Notes impose certain limitations and restrictions on share repurchases. Refer to “Note 10: Debt” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about our Credit Agreement and our 2025 Indenture.

Item 6. [Reserved]

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis provides information concerning our results of operations and financial condition. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our accompanying consolidated financial statements and the notes in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

Tripadvisor operates the world’s largest travel guidance platform, connecting a global audience of prospective travelers with travel partners through rich content, price comparison tools, and online reservation and related services for destinations, accommodations, travel activities and experiences, and restaurants. Our mission is to help people around the world plan, book and experience the perfect trip.

In 2000, under our flagship brand Tripadvisor, we launched www.Tripadvisor.com in the U.S. Since then, we have built a portfolio of travel guidance brands and businesses, seamlessly connecting travelers to destinations, accommodations, travel activities and experiences, and restaurants in over 40 markets and over 20 languages worldwide. As of December 31, 2021, Tripadvisor featured more than 1 billion reviews and opinions on nearly 8 million hotels and other accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises.

In addition to the flagship Tripadvisor brand, we own and operate a portfolio of online travel brands and businesses, operating under various websites, connected by the common goal of providing consumers the most comprehensive travel-planning and trip-taking resources in the travel industry. For information on our portfolio of brands and our business model, see the discussion set forth in Part I, Item 1. “Business”, under the captions “Overview” and “Our Business Model.”

Our reporting structure includes the following reportable segments: (1) Hotels, Media & Platform; and (2) Experiences & Dining. For further information regarding our segments, including the principal revenue streams within these segments and timing of revenue recognition and cashflows, refer to “Note 4: Revenue Recognition” and “Note 20: Segment and Geographic Information” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Executive Financial Summary

Tripadvisor is the world’s largest travel guidance platform, as measured by unique users de-duplicated monthly, according to SimilarWeb. As a result, Tripadvisor represents an attractive platform for travel partners – including hotel chains, independent hoteliers, OTAs, destination marketing organizations, experience operators, restaurants, and other travel-related and non-travel related product and service providers – who seek to market and sell their products and services to a global audience. Tripadvisor’s platform and product offerings enable consumers to discover, research and price shop a variety of travel products, including hotels, flights, cruises, cars, vacation rentals, tours, travel activities and other experiences, and restaurants; and book a number of these travel experiences either directly on our platform, or on our travel partners’ websites or mobile apps.

Business Trends

The online travel industry in which we operate is large and also highly dynamic and competitive. Our overall strategy is to deliver more value to consumers and travel partners in order to generate more monetization on our platform. While we operate with a long-term growth focus, our specific growth objectives and resource allocation strategies can differ in both duration and magnitude within our segments. We describe below these dynamics, as well as the current trends affecting our overall business and reportable segments, key drivers of our financial results, and uncertainties that may impact our ability to execute on our objectives and strategies.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant negative impact on the travel, leisure, hospitality, and restaurant industries (collectively, the “travel industry”), and consequently adversely and materially affected our

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business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Among other impacts, COVID-19 has negatively impacted global consumer travel demand and consumers’ ability to travel and take part in other travel, leisure, and dining activities, thereby causing many of our travel partners to operate at significantly reduced and/or intermittent service levels during this timeframe.

Commencing in late February 2020 and progressively worsening through March 2020, we experienced a significant decline in consumer demand for our products and services as well as an increase in customer cancellations, concurrent with widespread travel restrictions imposed by governments and businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second half of March 2020 and throughout April 2020, significant year-over-year revenue declines generally stabilized across the Company’s segments and products, a trend which generally continued throughout the second quarter of 2020, although modestly improved during the third quarter of 2020. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2020, however, local governments, particularly in Europe, began to impose new restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus, which again negatively impacted trends. Also, in the fourth quarter of 2020, multiple COVID-19 vaccines were approved for widespread distribution throughout various parts of the world, including the United States and Europe, and in the first quarter of 2021, vaccination distribution programs were initiated around the world. Vaccine programs in our largest markets, the U.S and Europe, appear to be progressing well, and we expect the same for much of the rest of the world. We are encouraged by recent developments, although the timing and extent of widespread vaccine distributions on a global basis, and efficacy against recent variants (e.g., the Delta and Omicron) and future variants, if any, of COVID-19 remains unclear.

The adverse impact to our business from COVID-19 has been significant, albeit unevenly at different points in time and in different geographies throughout 2020. This adverse impact has been driven by the pandemic’s proliferation, intermittent containment and resurgence of the virus, and new variants of the virus introduced throughout the world, followed by travel restrictions and other mandates put in place, lifted and/or reinstated at different timeframes during 2020 and 2021 by local governments to mitigate the spread of the virus. As such, the travel industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been varied and uneven region-to-region on a global basis, as well as state-to-state in the U.S. These adverse impacts continued to negatively impact the travel industry and dampen consumer demand for our products and services at varied levels throughout 2021, although to a materially lesser extent in 2021 as the travel industry broadened its recovery.

In addition, the ultimate duration of the negative impact of COVID-19 on our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition remains uncertain and is dependent upon factors beyond our control, such as the continued transmission rate of COVID-19, including any new variants and/or additional resurgences of existing variants, if any, the extent and effectiveness of containment actions taken, vaccine efficacy, and the ultimate impact of these and other factors on consumer demand for travel and usage patterns on our platform. Although uncertainty remains, we generally saw continued improvement in the travel market in 2021 and expect that the market will continue to improve in 2022, driven by continued vaccination programs, the gradual lifting of government restrictions, and what we believe to be continued significant pent-up consumer demand for travel industry related services.

Traffic trends on our platform, a leading indicator of consumer travel demand, have improved since the trough of significant declines seen in the second half of March 2020 and throughout April 2020, as monthly unique users on Tripadvisor-branded websites for April 2020 were approximately 33% of the comparable period in 2019. By means of showing a comparison to a pre-COVID-19 timeframe, average monthly unique users on Tripadvisor-branded websites during the fourth quarter of 2021 were approximately 73% of 2019's comparable period despite impact late in the quarter from the Omicron variant, in comparison to approximately 55%, 70% and 76% of 2019’s comparable periods during the first, second and third quarters of 2021, respectively, driven by vaccine progress, the easing of various government restrictions, albeit unevenly, and consumer travel demand’s improving recovery.

Our consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $902 million, or an increase of 49%, when compared to the same period in 2020. In addition, by means of showing a comparison to a pre-COVID-19 timeframe, consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 58% of 2019’s comparable period. Our consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020, was approximately 39% of 2019’s comparable period. Revenue trends have also improved as 2021 has progressed as consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 was approximately 72% of 2019's comparable period, in comparison to approximately 33%, 56% and 71% of 2019’s comparable periods during the first, second and third quarters of 2021, respectively. This increase in revenue was driven largely by continued strength in the U.S. marketplace, but also due to marked improvement in Europe, where

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revenue began accelerating in May 2021 and continued through the third quarter of 2021, however was again impacted by the emergence of the Omicron variant late in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we took several steps to further strengthen our financial position and balance sheet, and maintain financial liquidity and flexibility, including, but not limited to, restructuring activities, reducing our ongoing operating expenses and headcount, additional borrowings and issuances of debt, and amendments to our Credit Facility, all of which are described in more detail below.

Liquidity

During the first quarter of 2020, we borrowed $700 million under the Credit Facility as a precautionary measure to reinforce our liquidity position and preserve financial flexibility in light of uncertainty in the global markets resulting from COVID-19. We repaid these borrowings in full in the third quarter of 2020 using proceeds from our 2025 Senior Notes. In addition, during 2020, by means of amendments to our Credit Facility, we were able to secure, among other things, covenant relief in the form of suspending our leverage ratio covenant, until the earlier of the first day after June 30, 2021 through maturity on which borrowings and other revolving credit utilizations under the revolving commitments exceed $200 million, or such earlier date as we may elect, when the leverage ratio covenant will then be reinstated. We also extended the maturity date of this facility to May 2024.

In July 2020, we completed the sale of $500 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes in a private offering, our 2025 Senior Notes, at 7.0% per annum with a maturity date of July 15, 2025. We used the proceeds received of $490 million, net of debt issuance costs, to repay a portion of our Credit Facility borrowings.

In March 2021, we completed the sale of $345 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes in a private offering, our 2026 Senior Notes, at 0.25% per annum with a maturity date of April 1, 2026. Concurrently, we used a portion of the proceeds received from the 2026 Senior Notes to enter into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain of the initial purchasers of the 2026 Senior Notes and/or their respective affiliates and/or other financial institutions at a cost of approximately $35 million. The Company intends to use the remainder of the proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of debt, including the redemption and/or purchase of a portion of its 2025 Senior Notes prior to maturity.

We believe these measures provide us additional financial flexibility which we believe is important given our continued limited ability to predict our future financial performance due to the uncertainties associated with COVID-19.

Refer to “Note 10: Debt” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about our Credit Facility, 2025 Senior Notes, and 2026 Senior Notes.

Cost Reduction Measures

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company instituted a cost reduction initiative to preserve cash flows, including targeted workforce reduction measures largely in the Experiences & Dining segment, in addition to optimizing and reducing brand advertising as the Company pivoted to leverage newer advertising mediums we believe will be more effective than our historically television-focused campaign.

During the latter part of the first quarter of 2020, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company instituted additional cost reduction measures, including the elimination of the majority of discretionary spending, business travel and non-critical vendor relationships, brand advertising, as well as the temporary cessation of nearly all new hiring and contingent staff, reduction of targeted employee benefits and the furlough of over 100 employees.

In April 2020, management approved and the Company announced an additional cost reduction initiative in response to the continued economic and financial impacts resulting from the COVID -19 pandemic, which included the following:

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The Company incurred total pre-tax restructuring and other related reorganization costs of approximately $41 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, as a result of these measures. Such costs were both recorded on our consolidated statement of operations and fully paid by the Company during 2020.

CARES Act and Other Governmental Relief

In March 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), an emergency economic stimulus package enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes numerous income tax provisions, some of which are effective retroactively. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not record any income tax benefit under the CARES Act; however, during the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $23 million as a result of a loss carryback provision provided under the CARES Act.

In addition, certain governments have passed legislation to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic through loans, wage subsidies, wage tax relief or other financial aid. Some of these governments have extended or are considering extending these programs. We have participated in several of these programs, including the CARES Act in the U.S., the United Kingdom's job retention scheme, as well as similar programs in other jurisdictions. In addition, in certain countries, such as within the European Union, Singapore, Australia, and other jurisdictions, we participated in programs where government assistance came in the form of wage subsidies and reductions in wage-related employer taxes paid by us. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we recognized government grants and other assistance benefits of $9 million and $12 million, respectively, as a reduction of personnel and overhead costs in the consolidated statements of operations.

For further details of income tax benefits and other government assistance recorded by the Company under the CARES Act and other governmental relief programs, refer to “Note 12: Income Taxes” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Hotels, Media & Platform Segment

Our Hotels, Media & Platform segment is comprised of: Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue and Tripadvisor-branded Display and Platform Revenue.

Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue primarily consists of hotel auction revenue and, to a lesser extent, hotel B2B revenue, which primarily includes subscription-based advertising services that we offer to travel partners and click-based revenue generated from hotel sponsored placement advertising that enables hotels to enhance their visibility on Tripadvisor hotel pages. Tripadvisor-branded Display and Platform Revenue primarily includes impression-based advertising revenue.

Our overall strategic objective in our Hotels, Media & Platform segment is to drive revenue and profits while delivering compelling services to consumers and driving a holistic user experience, increased customer engagement and monetization, as well as offering travel partners a diverse set of advertising opportunities on the Tripadvisor platform.

For consumers, we test and implement product enhancements that deliver a more engaging and comprehensive hotel shopping experience. This includes providing rich, immersive content – reviews, photos, videos and ratings, among other contributions, increasing the number of travel partners and properties as well as the available hotel supply on our platform. We believe providing consumers tools to discover, research, price shop and book a comprehensive selection of accommodations helps increase brand awareness and brand loyalty and, over time, can result in deeper consumer engagement, more qualified leads delivered to travel partners and greater monetization on our platform.

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We seek to monetize our influence through hotel-related product improvements, supply and marketing efforts and customer advertising opportunities. Historically, we have generated a significant amount of hotel shoppers from search engines, such as Google. A hotel shopper is a visitor to our platform that views either a listing of hotels in a city or a specific hotel page. Our key ongoing objective related to traffic acquisition is to attract or acquire hotel shoppers at or above our desired marketing return on investment targets. Over the long-term, we are focused on driving a greater percentage of our traffic from direct traffic sources rather than search engines, which comes with little to no traffic acquisition costs.

As noted in the “COVID-19” discussion above, easing of travel restrictions across the world, rising vaccination rates, and an increase in consumer travel demand drove improved financial results during 2021, as Hotel, Media & Platform revenue increased by 52% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, despite the impact from the rise of the Delta variant late in the third quarter of 2021 and then the emergence of the Omicron variant late in the fourth quarter of 2021. Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue increased 55% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by our hotel auction revenue, which reached approximately 58% of 2019’s comparable period, an increase from 32% in 2020 of 2019’s comparable period. The Company saw particular strength in recovery of domestic consumer travel, most notably in the U.S., whereas international travel and, in particular, inter-continental travel, has been slower to recover. Our U.S. hotel auction revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021, reached nearly 85% of 2019’s comparable period on strong consumer travel demand, and improved sequentially during the first three quarters of 2021, when compared as a percentage to 2019's comparable periods, while declining in the fourth quarter of 2021 again due to the emergence of the Omicron variant. In addition, our U.S. hotel auction CPC rates regained 2019 levels in early May 2021 and remained above 2019 levels through December 2021, demonstrating strong travel partner engagement on our platform as consumer travel demand recovers in the U.S. Although slower to recover, hotel auction revenue in Europe and the rest of the world also showed improvement during 2021, however, as with the U.S., Europe was also negatively impacted by the emergence of the Omicron variant late in the fourth quarter of 2021. As a result of these overall positive trends noted above, we increased our performance marketing investment throughout 2021 in correlation with the increase in consumer travel demand and a more favorable hotel auction environment.

While slower to recover than Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue, our display and platform revenue increased by 41% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020. In addition, and by means of also showing a comparison to a pre-COVID-19 timeframe, Tripadvisor-branded display and platform revenue improved when compared to the comparable period in 2020, while reaching approximately 60% of 2019’s comparable period in 2021 and also improved sequentially during the first three quarters of 2021 when compared to 2019’s comparable periods, while declining modestly in the fourth quarter of 2021, when compared as a percentage to the 2019 comparable period, due to the emergence of the Omicron variant. This overall improvement for 2021 was primarily driven by an increase in marketing spend from our advertisers in correlation with increasing consumer travel demand, as discussed above.

Over the long-term, we believe that improving our offerings to deepen consumer engagement on our platform will enable us to more effectively monetize our influence. For example, in Tripadvisor-branded display and platform revenue, we enable travel partners to amplify their brand, generate brand impressions, and potentially drive qualified leads and bookings for their businesses. Historically, we have limited both the type and number of display-based advertising opportunities we make available to travel partners, particularly on mobile phone, which, in turn, has limited display-based advertising revenue growth. However, we continue to work on initiatives to better leverage our audience, content, data, travel influence and platform breadth to open up new media advertising opportunities through a more modern, high-powered advertising suite spanning native, video and programmatic solutions. We have broadened our solution to a larger set of advertising travel endemic and non-travel endemic advertising partners, including industries such as entertainment, spirits, and finance. On the consumer side, we are focused on making Tripadvisor membership more valuable for consumers. As an example, during 2021, we launched Tripadvisor Plus, an annual subscription-based membership that offers financial incentives, benefits and perks to members who book hotels and experiences on our platform.

As discussed above, the Company initiated cost reduction measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the majority of which were related to personnel and overhead costs and brand advertising, or television advertising, for this segment. During 2021, we maintained the majority of these cost savings in this segment,

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however, as noted above, the Company increased its performance marketing spend during the year. Relative strength in CPC pricing allowed us to increase spend in marketing channels at a profitable ROAS (return on ad spend), while our free traffic, or SEO traffic, has been slower to recover.

These efforts demonstrate our continued focus on increasing the quality of customer engagement on our platform, including driving membership growth, increasing personalization, and innovating our mobile app experience. We believe delivering – and improving upon – a great experience for users will encourage more users to use our services more frequently, increase member growth and member engagement, and drive loyalty to our brand and services. In turn, we believe this makes our platform more attractive for travel partners, and can result in increased monetization over time for us and our travel partners.

Experiences & Dining Segment

Our Experiences & Dining offerings contribute to the comprehensive user experience we deliver, which we believe helps to increase awareness of, loyalty to, and engagement with our products, drive more bookings to Experiences & Dining travel partners and generate greater revenue and increased profitability on our platform. Given the significant market opportunities in these large categories, we expect to continue to invest in building these offerings to drive consumer engagement, bookings and revenue growth for the long-term. Since the first quarter of 2020, this segment’s revenue has been negatively and materially impacted at varying levels by a significant reduction in consumer demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced consumer willingness to research, purchase, and consume travel activities. This negative impact has also been driven by a wide variety of government-instituted actions and restrictions around the globe aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, all of which have impacted consumer access to experience offerings and restaurants. For example, during the first quarter of 2021, restaurants in most of the European countries in which our Dining business operates were ordered to remain closed.

However, during most of 2021, our Experiences & Dining segment’s financial results improved significantly, as revenue in this segment increased by 65% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, driven by our Experiences offering, as a result of the growing travel demand recovery driven by vaccine progress and various government restrictions being gradually lifted. By means of showing a comparison to a pre-COVID-19 timeframe, during the fourth quarter of 2021, our Experiences & Dining segment revenue reached approximately 90% of the fourth quarter of 2019 revenue, an increase from 81% of the third quarter of 2019 revenue in the third quarter of 2021, despite the impact of the Delta and Omicron variants. In addition, our Experiences & Dining segment revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021, was 67% of 2019’s comparable period, an increase from 40% of 2019’s comparable period during the year ended December 31, 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, our Experiences revenue grew over 230%, when compared to the same period in 2020, and reached 64% of 2019’s comparable period revenue, primarily driven by our Viator point of sale business. As a result of strong consumer demand in our Viator business with the growing travel demand recovery during 2021, we significantly increased investments in performance marketing channels in order to capture additional market share while maintaining a positive return on investment measured over the projected lifetime of a customer. In Dining, we saw a notable recovery since mid-May 2021, as restaurants in most European countries in which TheFork operates began reopening for in-restaurant dining. However, late in the fourth quarter of 2021, Omicron-related restrictions and related impact to consumer demand within Europe again began to impact Dining. Overall, Dining revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021, decreased by 5%, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by the impact of COVID-19, as restaurants in most of the European countries in which our Dining business operates were ordered to remain closed during the first quarter of 2021, while Dining revenue during the final three quarters of 2021 exceeded the total from the comparable quarters for 2020 by approximately 29%. By means of showing a comparison to a pre-COVID-19 timeframe, Dining revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021 reached 74% of 2019's comparable period.

As discussed above, the Company initiated cost reduction measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020, the majority of which was related to personnel and overhead costs and brand advertising in this segment. During 2021, we maintained the majority of cost savings in this segment, however, as noted above, the Company significantly increased its performance marketing spend during the year.

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During 2021, we have explored new initiatives to delight and engage consumers. For example, we improved our site navigation, recommendations, sort orders, quality of our experience products, mobile apps, and offered new consumer payment options, as new customer acquisition remains top priority during the growing travel recovery. For operators, we launched a new advertising program, Viator Accelerate, which is aimed at helping operators increase their visibility on the platform through targeted advertising, ultimately with the goal of increasing bookings and reach.

Other

Other is a combination of our Rentals, Flights & Car, and Cruise offerings and is not considered a reportable segment. Other revenue continues to experience the ongoing negative impact of COVID-19, particularly in our Flights and Cruise offerings, and was also negatively impacted by the sale of our SmarterTravel business during the second quarter of 2020. We continue to operate these businesses opportunistically as they complement our overall strategic objectives to deliver more value to consumers and travel partners.

Consolidated Results of Operations

A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019 can be found in Part II, Item 7. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 19, 2021.

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Results of Operations

Selected Financial Data

(in millions, except percentages)

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Revenue and Segment Information

n.m. = not meaningful

Hotels, Media & Platform Segment

Hotels, Media & Platform segment revenue increased by $188 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to increased hotel auction revenue, particularly in the U.S., and, to a lesser extent, increased hotel auction revenue in Europe, due to the impact of growing consumer travel demand and increasing travel industry recovery on our business, as discussed above.

Adjusted EBITDA in our Hotels, Media & Platform segment increased $98 million, during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020. This was primarily due to an increase in revenue as noted above, and, to a lesser extent, a reduction in personnel costs as a result of workforce reductions related to our cost-reduction measures during 2020 in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase in direct selling and marketing expenses related to search engine marketing, or SEM, and other online paid traffic acquisition costs in response to increasing consumer travel demand as travel restrictions ease, vaccination rates increase, and the travel industry recovers, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in personnel and overhead costs to help support business and key staff retention growth during the growing travel demand recovery.

The following is a detailed discussion of the revenue sources within our Hotels, Media & Platform segment:

Tripadvisor-branded Hotels Revenue

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Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue primarily includes hotel auction revenue and, to a lesser extent, hotel B2B revenue, which includes click-based revenue generated from hotel sponsored placement advertising that enable hotels to enhance their visibility on Tripadvisor hotel pages, and subscription-based advertising services that we offer to travel partners. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, 82%, 81%, and 83%, respectively, of our total Hotels, Media & Platform segment revenue was derived from Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue. Tripadvisor-branded hotels revenue increased $160 million or 55% during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020. This increase was primarily driven by our hotel auction revenue, particularly in the U.S., and, to a lesser extent, an increase in hotel auction revenue in Europe, despite the impact from the Delta variant late in the third quarter of 2021 and the emergence of the Omicron variant late in the fourth quarter of 2021, due to rising consumer travel demand and travel industry recovery, given rising vaccination rates and easing of government travel and leisure restrictions. As consumer travel demand continued to increase during 2021, the Company saw continued improvement in hotel auction monetization, as CPC rates during the second half of 2021 exceeded parity of 2019's comparable period, which enabled increased efficient marketing investment on performance channels, enhancing our 2021 hotel auction revenue growth. See “Business Trends” above for further discussion.

Tripadvisor-branded Display and Platform Revenue

For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, 18%, 19%, and 17%, respectively, of our total Hotels, Media & Platform segment revenue was derived from Tripadvisor-branded display and platform revenue, which consists of revenue from display-based advertising across our platform. Tripadvisor-branded display and platform revenue increased $28 million or 41% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by an increase in marketing spend from our advertisers in correlation with increasing consumer travel demand, as discussed above.

Experiences & Dining Segment

For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, our Experiences & Dining segment revenue accounted for 34%, 31% and 29%, respectively, of total consolidated revenue. Experiences & Dining segment revenue increased by $121 million or 65% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, driven by Experiences revenue, as discussed above under “Business Trends.”

This segment’s revenue has been negatively and materially impacted at varying levels by a significant reduction in consumer demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic at varying levels during 2020 and 2021. However, during 2021, our Experiences & Dining segment’s financial results significantly improved as a result of the growing consumer travel demand recovery, albeit unevenly, driven by vaccine progress and various government restrictions being gradually lifted during the same time period, which is discussed further under “Business Trends” above.

Experiences & Dining segment Adjusted EBITDA loss decreased by $43 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to an increase in revenue as noted above, a reduction in personnel costs as a result of workforce reductions related to our cost-reduction measures during 2020 in response to COVID-19, and, to a lesser extent, lower television advertising costs, office lease costs, and bad debt expense, partially offset by increased selling and marketing expenses related to SEM and other online paid traffic acquisition costs in response to increased consumer demand for experiences and restaurants as part of the growing consumer travel demand recovery and, to a lesser extent, an increase in personnel and overhead costs to help support business growth and key staff retention during the growing travel demand recovery.

Other

Other revenue, which includes Rentals revenue, in addition to primarily click-based advertising and display-based advertising revenue from our Flights & Cars, and Cruises offerings on Tripadvisor websites and mobile apps, decreased by $11 million or 19% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to the continued negative impact of COVID-19 on these offerings, and the sale of our SmarterTravel business during the second quarter of 2020.

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Adjusted EBITDA in Other increased $10 million or 67% during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, was primarily due to reduction in personnel costs as a result of workforce reductions related to our cost-reduction measures during the first half of 2020 in response to COVID-19 and lower non-income tax costs, partially offset by a decrease in revenue, as noted above.

Consolidated Expenses

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue consists of expenses that are directly related or closely correlated to revenue generation, including direct costs, such as credit card and other booking transaction payment fees, data center costs, costs associated with prepaid tour tickets, ad serving fees, flight search fees, and other transaction costs. In addition, cost of revenue includes personnel and overhead expenses, including salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses for certain customer support personnel who are directly involved in revenue generation.

Cost of revenue increased $19 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to increased direct costs from credit card payment and other revenue-related transaction costs in our Experiences & Dining segment in correlation with an increase in revenue.

Selling and Marketing

Selling and marketing expenses consist of direct costs, including traffic generation costs from SEM and other online traffic acquisition costs, syndication costs and affiliate marketing commissions, social media costs, brand advertising (including television and other offline advertising), promotions and public relations. In addition, our selling and marketing expenses consist of indirect costs such as personnel and overhead expenses, including salaries, commissions, benefits, stock-based compensation, and bonuses for sales, sales support, customer support and marketing employees.

Direct selling and marketing costs increased $166 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to an increase in our SEM and other online traffic acquisition spend in our Hotels, Media & Platform and Experiences & Dining segments in response to increasing consumer travel demand as travel activity restrictions ease and the travel industry recovers.

Personnel and overhead costs decreased $13 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily as a result of a reduction in headcount related to our cost-reduction measures across our business in response to COVID-19 implemented during the first half of 2020, partially offset by increased personnel and overhead related to performance bonuses and additional headcount to help support business growth and key staff retention during the growing travel demand recovery during 2021.

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Technology and Content

Technology and content expenses consist primarily of personnel and overhead expenses, including salaries and benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and bonuses for salaried employees and contractors engaged in the design, development, testing, content support, and maintenance of our platform. Other costs include licensing, maintenance expense, computer supplies, telecom costs, content translation and localization costs, and consulting costs.

Technology and content costs decreased $8 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to decreased personnel and overhead costs across our business as a result of a reduction in headcount driven by cost-reduction measures across our business in response to COVID-19 implemented during the first half of 2020, partially offset by an increase in performance bonuses, contingent staff costs, and stock-based compensation expense to help support business growth and key staff retention during the growing travel demand recovery during 2021.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel and related overhead costs, including personnel engaged in leadership, finance, legal, and human resources, as well as stock-based compensation expense for those same personnel. General and administrative costs also include professional service fees and other fees including audit, legal, tax and accounting, and other costs including bad debt expense, non-income taxes, such as sales, use and other non-income related taxes.

General and administrative costs decreased $6 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020. Personnel and overhead costs increased $13 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by an increase in performance bonuses, recruiting costs, and stock-based compensation expense to help support business growth and key staff retention during the growing consumer travel demand recovery, partially offset by decreased personnel and overhead costs as a result of a reduction in headcount driven by cost-reduction measures across our business in response to COVID-19 implemented during the first half of 2020. Professional service fees and other decreased $19 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to a decrease in bad debt expense of $14 million due to improved collection trends as the travel industry recovers and to a lesser extent a decrease in third-party professional service costs related to cost-reduction measures and other non-income related taxes costs.

Depreciation and amortization

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Depreciation expense consists of depreciation on computer equipment, leasehold improvements, furniture, office equipment and other assets, and amortization of capitalized website development costs and right-of-use (“ROU”) assets related to our finance lease. Amortization consists of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles purchased in business acquisitions.

Depreciation and amortization decreased $14 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to the completion of amortization related to certain intangible assets from business acquisitions in previous years and lower depreciation related to computer equipment, leasehold improvements, furniture and capitalized website development costs driven by a reduction in headcount related to our cost-reduction measures across our business in response to COVID-19 implemented during the first half of 2020.

Impairment of Goodwill

The Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $3 million related to our Tripadvisor China reporting unit in the third quarter of 2020. Refer to “Note 8: Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Restructuring and other related reorganization costs

Restructuring and other related reorganization costs consist primarily of employee severance and related benefits.

The Company incurred restructuring and other related reorganization costs of $41 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily due to actions taken by the Company in response to COVID-19.

Interest Expense

Interest expense primarily consists of interest incurred, commitment fees, and debt issuance cost amortization related to our Credit Facility, 2025 Senior Notes, 2026 Senior Notes, as well as interest on our finance lease.

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Interest expense increased $10 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to the issuance of our 2025 Senior Notes in July 2020, partially offset by lower interest expense on our Credit Facility as the Company did not borrow from this facility during 2021. Refer to “Note 10: Debt” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 on this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Interest Income

Interest income primarily consists of interest earned from bank deposits available on demand, money market funds, overnight demand deposits and marketable securities, including amortization of discounts and premiums on our marketable securities.

Interest income decreased $2 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to a reduction in average interest rates earned on our investments during 2021.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net generally consists of net foreign exchange gains and losses, forward contract gains and losses, earnings/(losses) from equity method investments, gain/(loss) and impairments on non-marketable investments, gain/loss on sale/disposal of businesses, and other non-operating income (expenses).