Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Michael Kupinski: Got you. And then just a final question about margins. You mentioned that the increase in the margins was due to the absence of losses in Japan, but I believe that you had made some structural changes as well, like decreases in office space and so forth. And I was just wondering now that you moved to more of a licensing agreement in Asia and with the structural changes that you’ve made, can you kind of give us your thought about what are the prospects of margin improvement and what could be the sustainable margins for the company?

Holger Bartel: You’re absolutely right, Michael. It’s a combination of both. We just wanted to make it clear that operating margins before the pandemic were not that much lower if we actually eliminate the investments we made in Asia Pacific. So that was one element. And the other element is, of course, as you say, that we have changed our cost structure permanently going forward. Well, in Q4, operating margin in North America was 29%. That’s actually quite good. That’s before taxes, obviously, but I think we can get the entire business to that level over the long run.

Operator: Your next question will come from the line of Jim Goss with Barrington Research.

James Goss: I am curious how you would evaluate Travelzoo’s trends right now relative to broader industry measures for hotels, airlines and other services like Expedia that make more direct bookings. And why do you think you would lead or lag any of those particularly broader trends?

Holger Bartel: So clearly coming out of the pandemic, there was pent-up demand. And as we said in the last quarter, people were traveling even more than they would have without the pandemic happening. So flights were full. Hotels were completely full. Airlines and hotels were not even operating at the same capacity. Now they’re increasing capacity, people are looking more for value. So in general, when you see travel suppliers having reported relatively good numbers recently. For us, I think 2023 will be a year where we’ll be doing better than 2022 just because there is more opportunity for us to do what we are best at, which is negotiating and finding offers for our members that inspire them to travel and helping travel suppliers to really fill those dates when they are not busy and the destinations where that maybe — there may be less known or destinations where they are less busy indoor seasons. That’s what Travelzoo is about.

James Goss: So do you think you might — there might be a reason you might lag sort of the direct placements for hotels and placement in flights, et cetera, that you would catch up now as that — and maybe even at least grow as fast as some of the industry trends once that interest in travel revise. Is that…

Holger Bartel: Yes. I think that’s a good description. You put that forward very well, Jim. In general, when you look back, I mean, a company that’s been around for a long time and in periods when people watching their wallets closer, and we definitely are entering such times this year with inflation continuing to be high and some of the money that was spent — sorry, that was spread out by governments across the world that money is evaporating. And so people are looking more for value and for deals. So I think we are better positioned, but you explained very well, Jim.

James Goss: Okay. And within North America, are you noticing a difference in trends between Canada versus U.S.? And relative to North America vis-a-vis Europe, if Europe could be viewed as sort of collective continent rather than a group of countries. Is there more interest in international travel on this side of the pond versus that side of the pond?