TripAdvisor (TRIP -0.23%) says business continues to improve as the second quarter progresses, but its performance will still be "materially worse" than last year.
Revenue for the second quarter plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down virtually all travel, leading April and May receipts to come in at just 10% of the level it achieved in 2019. June, however, is improving, though receipts will still be 20% below the year ago period. The company anticipates that business will get begin improving beginning in the third quarter.
Image source: Getty Images.
Going nowhere fast
Stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus outbreak crushed the travel and hospitality industries, and despite a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases in some states, some believe that a return to normalcy will occur in time for consumers to start traveling again this summer.
TripAdvisor said government actions to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus have "impacted consumers' willingness to research, purchase, and consume travel." However, it does appear that business is starting to pick up again.
The travel recommendation site says monthly unique visitors to the TripAdvisor website have improved since April, when they were just 33% of last year's traffic figures. In May, users rose to be 45% of the year ago period, and in June it's looking better still.
TripAdvisor says the significant staff cuts it made, among other cost cuts, mean that it will be able to withstand a period of revenue disruption and meet its debt covenants coming due this year and next.
TripAdvisor will report its second quarter earnings in early August.
