trivago marks turning point, gears up for accelerated growth in 2025
Last year trivago delivered tangible branded revenue growth by intensifying brand marketing campaigns in more than 23 key travel markets with improved efficiency. The article trivago marks turning point, gears up for accelerated growth in 2025 first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.
In 2024 trivago substantially enhanced its user experience and conversion rates by running hundreds of experiments on its platform and offering new features. The company expect at least high single-digit revenue growth in 2025, and they aim to be at at least breakeven adj. EBITDA.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, we reached a turning point towards sustainable growth. We are excited to share that in the last quarter, we achieved a 3% top-line growth while delivering €11.1 million in Adjusted EBITDA, both exceeding our expectations. Our brand investments are paying off, demonstrated by continued positive brand revenue trajectory. Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, we are well positioned for growth which we can already see with strong double-digit revenue growth in January,” said Chief Executive Officer Johannes Thomas.
“Our robust financial performance in the fourth quarter and the excellent start to the year are very encouraging. Both the fourth quarter of 2024 and January 2025 exceeded our expectations. With a return to revenue growth, a strong cash balance of over €130 million at the end of 2024, no long-term debt, and a healthy Adjusted EBITDA margin of around 10% over the last two quarters, we have successfully returned to a profitable growth trajectory. The company believes it is in a solid position as we look forward to 2025,” said Chief Financial Officer Robin Harries.
Company announcement:
Financial Performance Q4 2024
We are excited to share that after one and a half years of intense groundwork and strategic execution, we achieved revenue growth in Q4 2024. This marks a turning point for us, as we see solid momentum heading into 2025. We delivered 5% growth in Referral Revenue and 11.1 million euros in adjusted EBITDA in the last quarter of 2024, both exceeding our expectations. Total Revenues grew by 3% to €94.8 million in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. The start of this quarter has been equally promising, with strong double-digit top-line growth across all segments. Key drivers of our performance include major product enhancements over the past year and continued positive returns from our brand investments.
As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we are well positioned for continued growth. Early results from our new AI-powered marketing campaign featuring our brand ambassador, Jürgen Klopp, have been promising. We have already launched brand marketing campaigns in more than 23 key travel markets this year. We remain disciplined in our approach, aiming to invest near break-even adjusted EBITDA levels. Although it is still early in the year, we expect to achieve at least high single-digit revenue growth in 2025.
Leadership reflection and AI transformation
Since our arrival, we have cultivated a performance-driven culture that prioritizes continuous learning and rapid execution. We have accelerated the pace of experimentation, rigorously measuring impact, and boldly scaling successful initiatives. We introduced OKRs, a new performance measurement approach, and improved reward structures to better incentivize impactful contributions by our employees. Our aim is to instil a mindset of entrepreneurial pragmatism and determination, with the objective of delivering more value to our users and partners, faster.
We made AI a central focus within our organization. One of our first initiatives in 2023 was to establish an AI Ambassadors group and fast-track the implementation of GenAI tools, enabling our teams to leverage the technology for both user and business purposes. Today, we have built a competitive AI infrastructure, with 70% of our employees reporting that these tools save them 30 minutes or more each day. We have launched AI-powered TV ads, new personalization algorithms for our search results, unique AI Highlights for over 300,000 hotels, and recently unveiled our AI Smart Search, offering travelers entirely new ways to search for hotels. We are very excited about the widespread internal adoption, which is unlocking both productivity gains and the potential to further increase user value.
trivago is a leading brand in a large and expanding market
We are well positioned in a market estimated to be over $1.5 trillion in size. The hotel segment is especially highly attractive in terms of margin and scope. trivago is among the strongest and most recognized travel brands across key markets in Developed Europe, the Americas, and Asia. This brand recognition is an invaluable asset that we aim to continually leverage and strengthen. Compared to pre-COVID levels, there remains significant potential for us to increase our brand investment in the coming years which we expect to be a growth driver.
Value proposition is more relevant than ever
Our value proposition is more relevant than ever, particularly in an era where travelers seem to be rather price-conscious. Our research indicates that about half of U.S. travelers place a high value on securing competitive prices. More than 40% actively seek out deals and compare prices across various booking sites. Since the pandemic, the number of deals and price discrepancies we have identified has significantly increased. US Travelers who use trivago to compare prices have a good chance of saving up to 40%.
Looking ahead
We aim to unlock value for our shareholders and users by diligently executing on our strategy. Going forward, our strategy will be laser-focused on three pillars:
- Our first strategic priority will remain brand marketing. We will continue to optimize our brand investments and deliver captivating ads that strongly convey our value proposition.
- Our second strategic priority will remain our core Hotel Search product. We will continue to run dozens of experiments at a time to improve user experience and conversion rates of our core product. Further, we will dedicate investments to develop a differentiated member proposition. We want price-savvy travelers to start their journey with us, instead of other search engines or GenAI applications. These efforts will be complemented by investments in personalisation of our search results and cutting edge AI features on trivago.
- Our third strategic priority is to empower our partners to maximise their potential on trivago. A key initiative in 2025 will be the evolution and expansion of trivago Book & Go. A facilitated booking funnel for our partners that offers them a chance to increase conversion rates and competitiveness in our marketplace.
We believe that these priorities will drive sustainable growth and value to our users as well as partners. A big thank you goes out to our employees whose hard work and dedication were essential to return to growth. We look forward to continuing our successful journey together.
The article trivago marks turning point, gears up for accelerated growth in 2025 first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.
