Hi there,

I've never been much of a planner when it comes to travel. Show up, see what happens, follow whatever catches my eye. That approach has led me through cities and backstreets I never could have researched my way into and let me tell you, it hasn't always worked out well.

For me, that's always been part of the travel experience. Some of those shitty meals led me to incredible people I cherished meeting still to this day. It's also taken me to some of the best meals at nameless street carts, hidden bars where locals actually drink, and sunsets from spots that don't exist on Instagram (see below for the opposite). Perhaps most importantly for this article, I've witnessed how travel itself has completely transformed.

From my first backpacking trip with just a Lonely Planet guide—ripping out pages to save weight—to today's world where mass tourism makes authentic discovery harder than ever, my way of traveling has evolved. And so have the tools we rely on to navigate the world.

As the world went digital, TripAdvisor became more than a review site. It became where real travelers left breadcrumbs: honest reviews, tips, and unfiltered stories. It wanted to be a place where travelers hung out and shared their journeys. Almost like a guide. A fellow wanderer.

And now, with its recent rebrand, it finally looks like one.

This transformation didn't happen by accident. After 25 years of being the internet's most trusted travel database, TripAdvisor realized something profound: they weren't hosting stories, they were made of them.

The rebrand became a masterclass in modern branding, where trust doesn't come from perfection but from presence.

The Journey of TripAdvisor

We've all done it, booked a last-minute hotel based on a 4.6-star rating, skimmed the top 10 things to do in Lisbon, double-checked the traveler photos just to make sure the pool wasn't a wide-angle lie.

TripAdvisor was a game-changer when it launched in 2000. Founder Stephen Kaufer built what we all needed: a tool that made travel planning smarter, faster, and more transparent through real human reviews.

For years, it worked perfectly. TripAdvisor became the go-to source and the numbers tell the story: 206 million visits by August 2023 made them the second biggest travel site on earth.

Yet when 2024 earnings dropped, the ugly truth emerged. Just 1% growth while the rest of travel was exploding back to life. All those visits weren't converting to value. Something internally needed to change, but lets take a step back and look at the industry as a whole.

The Cultural Shift: Travel Becomes Something Else

So, what changed in the travel world since the early 2000s?

Everything.

First, us. Travel became a checklist. "Did Greece. Did Turkey. Next." Now, that's not enough. We want meaning. Not "Where did you go?" but "How did it change you?"

Second, the world. COVID hit pause on everything. When borders reopened, we returned searching for something real. According to Expedia's 2023 report, 81% of travelers now seek experiences that spark emotional growth.

Third, branding caught up. Travel platforms began building emotional value, not just utility. They moved from helping you go places to helping you feel something once you arrived.

TripAdvisor had to evolve or disappear.

@canarian.traveller

Nothing beats a crowded sunset in Santorini. Remember to respect the locals #fyp #foryou #parati #santorini #greece #mammamiasummer #🇬🇷 #... See more

The New Battlefield: Beyond Traditional Competitors

While TripAdvisor battled Booking and Expedia, a different threat was building. One that doesn't follow the old playbook.

Google Travel doesn't need your loyalty, it already owns your search behavior. Type "best restaurants in Bangkok" and Google serves reviews, photos, hours, and booking links without you ever leaving their world. They're not competing for market share; they're swallowing the entire category.

Then there's the creator economy. Travel TikTokers with 2 million followers can make or break a destination with one video. When creators like Drew Binsky or Eva zu Beck showcase a hidden gem in Albania, they generate more authentic engagement than any traditional travel site. Their audiences not only trust them with their lives, they want to become them.

Now AI is rewriting everything. ChatGPT builds a personalized 10-day Italy itinerary in 30 seconds, complete with restaurant picks and transport links. No scrolling through endless reviews. No decision fatigue. Just: "Plan my trip" and it's done.

It’s crazy how fast everything is moving right now! Are we going to lose that touch and have all our travel experiences completely manufactured?

The Authenticity Arms Race

Here's what TripAdvisor discovered that others missed: these new competitors share a fatal weakness. They're either too algorithmic or too performative.

Google's recommendations are efficient but hollow and optimized for clicks, not connection. AI tools impress but feel generic and they can't tell you the gelato place in Rome closes early on Sundays, or that the Prague hostel has paper-thin walls but offers the city's best rooftop view.

Travel influencers seem authentic, but they're also brands. Every recommendation comes with an agenda affiliate links, sponsored content, personal brand building. Their authenticity is carefully curated.

TripAdvisor's rebrand positions them as the antidote to all three problems. Real people with no agenda other than helping future travelers avoid their mistakes and discover hidden gems.

The Community Moat

While competitors chase scale or influence, TripAdvisor doubled down on something much harder to replicate: genuine community.

Google can index every restaurant review on the internet, but they can't create the moment when a traveler in Barcelona updates their review to warn others that the tram strike is still happening. AI can suggest the top-rated hotel, but it can't tell you that Room 237 faces the construction site that starts jackhammering at 6 AM.

Influencers can make a place look magical, but TripAdvisor shows you what it actually feels like to be there—complete with the crowds, the overpriced drinks, and the unexpected moments that make it worth it anyway.

This rebrand makes the community feel less like a database and more like a conversation. That's positioning gold in an era of algorithmic noise.

Playing a Different Game

TripAdvisor's smartest move wasn't trying to beat these new competitors at their own game.

Google wins on convenience. AI wins on speed. Influencers win on aspiration. TripAdvisor wins on trust and trust is the one thing you can't automate, optimize, or fake your way into.

The rebrand amplifies that advantage by making every interaction feel human. Not just user-generated, but user-led. Not just crowdsourced, but community-driven.

In a world where everyone's trying to be faster, flashier, or more algorithmic, TripAdvisor chose to be more human. That might be the only sustainable competitive advantage left.

The Rebrand: From Traveling to Travelers

For its 25th anniversary, TripAdvisor teamed up with Koto Arthur Foliard's crew, the same studio behind brands like Airbnb and Lyft.

TripAdvisor wasn't a platform with user-generated content. It was user-generated content. One's a tech company pretending to care about people. The other is people who happen to use technology. Instead of trying to create content, they started showcasing what already existed. Sometimes the most obvious insights are just smacking you in the face.

The Strategic Shift

Most brands talk about being "community-driven." TripAdvisor actually handed the creative keys to their community.

Colors came from actual user photos, real shots from real trips. Terracotta from Marrakech sunsets, neon from Seoul streets, cherry blossom pink from Kyoto anniversaries. Foliard's team built a system that samples thousands of images and transforms them into palettes reflecting where people actually go.

The tone of voice was designed to "write like a well-traveled friend." Not some travel blogger building a personal brand. A friend who's been there and knows what you need to know.

Even Ollie the owl broke free from his static circle. His eyes now track content. He peeks around corners. Simple motion design that turns a logo into a character without being annoying.

The smart move was what they didn't do. No over-designing, no gratuitous animation, no 47-slide presentation explaining every decision. The system feels like it's been there for years and just cleaned up to give some space to breathe.

The Bigger Play

TripAdvisor's rebrand isn't about prettier visuals. It's about surviving in a market where tech giants crush everyone else.

They can't outspend Booking on customer acquisition. They can't match Expedia's massive reach. They can't replicate Airbnb's network magic.

But they can become the most human brand in a space that's turning increasingly robotic. While competitors chase conversion metrics, TripAdvisor chases connection. They proved that authenticity isn't a marketing strategy—it's a business model.

The genius was transforming from utility to companion. Before, TripAdvisor felt like an efficient but soulless database. Now it feels like that well-traveled friend who always has the perfect recommendation. They built a brand that gets stronger every time someone leaves a review, where every photo uploaded makes the palette richer, every honest opinion makes the platform more valuable.

That's the breakthrough insight. When you can't win on budget, win on authenticity. When you can't dominate through scale, dominate through stories.

TripAdvisor stopped playing content aggregator and started amplifying real human experiences. Koto helped catalyze that transformation and redefined what a travel platform can become.

It's not just "people first" as marketing speak. It's people first and in the most genuine, lived way imaginable.

Maybe there's space for both travel philosophies after all. The spontaneous adventure and the carefully planned journey. The thrill of discovering hidden gems and the comfort of trusted recommendations.

Because sometimes the best experiences come from following someone else's trail and sometimes they come from blazing your own.

Brand Wars: Battle of Travel Giants

Booking.com

The friend who never gets excited about anything but always delivers. They've stripped travel down to its most basic transaction: you need a bed, here's 47,000 options, pick one. No storytelling, no inspiration, just brutal efficiency. Their genius? Making the hardest part of travel—deciding where to stay—feel completely mindless. They've gamified indecision with their "3 people are looking at this hotel right now" psychological warfare. It works because most travelers are paralyzed by choice, and Booking says "just pick one, they're all fine."

Expedia

Selling you a lifestyle you can't afford with a vacation you probably can. Every ad is a mini-movie about the person you'll become once you book that trip to Bali. They've convinced millions of people that the right vacation package will fix their marriage, their career, their life. It's travel as transformation therapy. Their bet? That people will pay extra to feel like the hero of their own adventure story, even if that story lasts exactly one week.

Ad Vault: Tourism Australia

Where the Bloody Hell Are You? (2006)

Tourism Australia broke every rule in destination marketing with this legendary ad.

Most tourism ads show pristine beaches and perfect couples holding hands at sunset. Australia showed regular people doing regular Australian things—drinking beer, watching fireworks, getting sharks out of the pool—and asked where the bloody hell you were.

The genius was the tone. While every other destination was trying to seduce you with beauty shots, Australia just called you out in the most Aussie way possible.

Then came the controversy. The UK banned it for "bloody." Canada banned it for showing beer. Suddenly everyone was talking about the ad that was too Australian for TV. The bans didn't hurt—they made it famous.

It’s a risky game these rage-bait ads (American Eagle and e.l.f more recently) but sometimes breaking the rules gets you noticed. Sometimes getting banned gets you famous. And sometimes that's worth more than perfect tourism metrics.

Pure bloody genius.

Lento Vibes

A bit of random inspo from around the grounds:

• Rage-Bait Ads: What Were We Even Thinking? Outrage gets attention—but does it get results? Brands keep feeding the fire, even when it burns trust. 👉 Why it’s still happening →

• ESPN Goes DTC (Finally) If you’re still watching sports on cable, ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer app might have just made you obsolete. 👉 See the breakdown →

• Times Square Gets Weird: Cluely’s brutally honest billboard skips the polish—and somehow, that makes it the boldest ad in the square. 👉 See the anti-ad flex →

• Made in Vietnam—And Proud: This striking campaign flips the script on “Made in” labels, turning a country-of-origin tag into a story of pride and craft 👉 Watch the campaign →

• AI Takes Over Times Square: The startup behind the strangest billboard in New York is showing what happens when AI gets the mic in advertising. 👉 Meet the minds behind it →