How the mighty have fallen, TripAdvisor is now in deep trouble with its transition to a hotel search and booking site going backwards, while TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer still is optimistic.

Of major concern is that the steps taken by TripAdvisor’s leadership to turn its hotel business around – “a fresh new look”, “streamlined hotel shopping experience” and increased brand advertising – have actually accelerated the decline.

Rubbing more salt into the wound is the fact TripAdvisor has never been more popular as a review site (monthly visits exceed 455 million) and yet booking revenue is down.

It’s now clear Founder Steve Kaufer was kidding himself when he told investors in early August that, “It is still very early, but these efforts are showing signs of success.”

At that time hotel bookings were slowing but still in the black. Not any more. During the third quarter, advertisers cut their spend while “click-based and transaction revenue and revenue per hotel shopper to decline by 5% and 11%, respectively.

“These softer than expected click-based and transaction results led to negative 3% Hotel segment revenue growth in the period.”

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