Get Ready for Trivago’s Advertising Reboot

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Trivago has struggled in recent years, with its shares currently trading for a little more than $1 per share. So the company is returning to its old playbook by looking to significantly beef up advertising, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal in his weekly column.  

Schaal writes Trivago’s new leadership plans on intensifying its brand advertising, including on TV,by the end of the year. Schaal reports Trivago had built its brand as the place to find hotel deals through its seemingly ubiquitous TV ads. The company spent an average of 82% of annual revenue on advertising from 2015-2019. But the former CEO, who left in May, downplayed that strategy. 

Next, Capital One will open a branded lounge at Washington-Dulles Airport on Thursday, marking the latest investment by a credit card company in the space, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.  

Russell writes the new lounge is a part of Capital One’s multi-year strategy to target high spenders. The company is investing in a larger network, with plans to open lounges at both the Denver and Las Vegas airports. Capital One had opened its first branded lounge at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in 2021. 

Russell adds the lounge at Dulles is part of a larger ecosystem at Capital One. The company runs Capital One Travel, a travel booking portal, powered by online travel agency Hopper. 

Finally, a Mastercard executive highlighted six trends shaping Indian travel, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.   

Mukul Sukhani, the company’s senior vice president of business development, said India is becoming a bigger player in the global travel industry — especially as the world’s largest outbound tourism market. He added that Indians are increasingly eager to visit countries with easier visa policies, citing Thailand as an example. Sukhani also said that more Indian travelers are looking to combine business and leisure trips.