Trover’s traveling days are over.
The photo-sharing hub for travelers, which began as a Seattle startup in 2011 and was acquired by Expedia in 2016, announced Wednesday that it is shutting down on Aug. 1.
Trover was started by Rich Barton and Jason Karas as a “mobile discovery network” intent on connecting people through images of shared places and experiences. Barton, the co-founder and current CEO of Zillow, previously founded and led Expedia, the online travel giant that paid an undisclosed sum for Trover.
Karas, a tech entrepreneur, now holds the title of senior director at Expedia. Both he and Barton weren’t just founders of Trover, they were users, and their pages (here and here) offer a view into some of what the site offered.
“I’m really proud of what Jason and the team built with Trover,” Barton told GeekWire in an email Wednesday afternoon. “Exploring the world seems even more important now that we are living our lives in such close proximity to our homes, longing for adventure. Of course, I fully respect and understand Expedia’s decision, given the hurricane that has hit the travel industry.”
A note to users appeared on the Trover website on Wednesday thanking travelers for sharing their content and advising them that images would continue to be used by Expedia Group if accounts were not deleted.
Our Journey is Ending
After nine years, Trover will be closing down on August 1, 2020.
Thank you to all of our users for coming on this journey with us — we’ve loved following your travels, and the content shared within this community. You have inspired us, and millions of others, to go out and explore the world!
You may continue to use Trover and the app until this date.
If you have uploaded images, they will continue to be used by our parent company, Expedia Group.
If you do not wish Expedia Group to use your images, please contact feedback@trover.com with your request to delete your account.
If you want to download all of your images, please log into your account and visit the downloads section of your profile before we shut down.
Thank you, and keep exploring!
The Trover team
The move by Expedia Group comes several months after it announced plans to lay off 12% of its workforce in an effort to “streamline and focus” the business. The coronavirus pandemic then put a halt on global travel and Expedia suffered a major reduction in business, reporting a 15% drop in year-over-year revenue during first-quarter earnings and a 39% drop in gross bookings.
GeekWire reached out to Expedia on Wednesday for comment on the closure of Trover and will provide an update when we hear back.
When Trover raised $2.5 million in funding in 2013, Karas had big plans for the site. When Expedia stepped in three years later, Karas said he was excited about the future with the travel giant on his team’s side.
“An important part of our job is to inspire travelers,” an Expedia spokesperson said at the time of the acquisition. “One way we do this is by igniting dreams through beautiful pictures of amazing destinations. We are excited to explore the compelling opportunities this partnership presents.”
Expedia promised more than 450 million visitors across its brand websites every month back in 2016, which Karas said would dramatically increase the reach of his startup.
