Trivago is thriving despite AI disruption threats.
Q2 revenue grew 21% to 168.4 million euros.
CEO Johannes Thomas credits AI transformation for the success.
What happened
Trivago reported second-quarter revenue growth of 21%, reaching 168.4 million euros ($196.4 million). The hotel search site grew almost 20% last year to about $633 million in revenue and remains profitable.
Why it matters
CEO Johannes Thomas credits AI for the results. When the supervisory board met late last year, they chose to aim for the impact of 6,000 people by leveraging AI rather than downsizing to 200. He now spends more than half his time on AI transformation, up from roughly a quarter a year ago.
What to watch
Thomas built a "role evolution agent" that scans each employee's work to give them a personalized playbook on what to automate. He advises other CEOs to invest at least one or two hours into AI and rethinking their work.
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Trivago's position is notable because it is smaller and narrower than competitors like Booking Holdings and Expedia, and it performs a search function that Google and Kayak also handle well. The company suffered a near-death experience during the pandemic, making its current profitability and growth particularly striking.
Thomas argues that small or medium-sized companies with a tech DNA are in a sweet spot for AI adoption because there are fewer layers of bureaucracy. The flat organization allows him to build applications himself, and he reports working about 10 hours more per week.
When he turned the role evolution agent on himself, it recommended eliminating earnings preparation and preparing for performance chats because 70% of the work is done. His advice to other CEOs is to block calendar time for AI learning, suggesting the transformation requires deliberate investment of attention rather than passive adoption.
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