Tripadvisor
has sold its SmarterTravel Media portfolio of eight online brands to Hopjump, a
Boston-based digital marketing company and provider of personalized travel recommendations
and content founded in 2017.
Terms
of the transaction have not been released, but the deal comes after Tripadvisor
CEO Steve Kaufer announced in April that the company would be dissolving the
SmarterTravel business unit as part of a broader consolidation and workforce
reduction that eliminated nearly 900 jobs.
Tripadvisor
says SmarterTravel employees who were not laid off in April have already been
moved into other roles inside the company, and a Hopjump spokesperson says it
intends to hire back those that were laid off by Tripadvisor as needed.
The
brands Hopjump is acquiring include smartertravel.com, oyster.com,
airfarewatchdog.com (and co.uk) and bookingbuddy.com (and co.uk). Tripadvisor
is retaining ownership of the Jetsetter brand, which it purchased in 2013 and is
now part of its launch of Reco, a personalized travel service that is in beta.
“The
travel industry has taken a hit, but it will absolutely come back. Hopjump is
taking a long approach on travel, and this acquisition positions us to engage
further with our customers to ensure that they can make educated decisions on
where, when and how to travel," says Jordan Staab, co-founder and president
of Hopjump.
"Now,
more than ever, people are looking for information and guidance on how to
travel in 2020 and beyond. The addition of the SmarterTravel portfolio
positions us to serve all types of 21st century travelers.”
Hopjump
is backed by Cambridge-based Link
Ventures and was launched out of its incubator, Cogo Labs.