Needham, MA-based TripAdvisor is expected very soon to reduce staff by 200 positions - about 5% of its workforce - and divert spending from TV advertising to digital, both in an effort to improve competitiveness against Google and others by cutting costs.

The company's Experiences and Dining segment has been under increasing pressure from competition by Google Reviews as well as GetYourGuide in Europe and Klook in Asia. Despite 19% revenue growth in 3Q2019, Experiences and Dining earnings were down 46%.

Google My Business is now the most visible site for hotel and travel reviews, and Google makes it very easy for users of Android devices to leave reviews. Also Google Search is giving more screen space to ads at the expense of organic returns. TripAdvisor has no answer to this, and has to sell ad space on its site to help pay for ads it itself buys from Google.