(1)  Basis of Presentation

During October 2013, the Board of Directors of Liberty Interactive Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Liberty”) authorized a plan to distribute to the stockholders of Liberty’s Liberty Ventures common stock shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary, Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. (“TripCo” or the “Company”) (the “Trip Spin-Off”). TripCo holds the subsidiaries TripAdvisor, Inc. (“TripAdvisor”) and BuySeasons, Inc., which includes the retail businesses of BuyCostumes.com and Celebrate Express (“BuySeasons”), both of which operate as stand-alone operating entities. Both TripAdvisor and BuySeasons have more revenue in the third quarter, based on a higher travel research period and the Halloween period, respectively, as compared to the other quarters of the year. The Trip Spin-Off was completed on August 27, 2014 and effected as a pro-rata dividend of shares of TripCo to the stockholders of Series A and Series B Liberty Ventures common stock of Liberty. The Trip Spin-Off was intended to be tax-free and was accounted for at historical cost due to the pro rata nature of the distribution to shareholders of Liberty Ventures common stock.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and represent a combination of the historical financial information of TripAdvisor, a combined company since December 11, 2012 (see note 4 for a more detailed discussion of transactions related to TripAdvisor), and BuySeasons. These financial statements refer to the combination of TripAdvisor and BuySeasons as “TripCo,” “the Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

Description of Business

TripAdvisor is an online travel company, empowering users to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor’s travel research platform aggregates reviews and opinions of members about accommodations, destinations, activities and attractions, and restaurants throughout the world so that its users have access to trusted advice wherever their trip takes them. TripAdvisor’s platform not only helps users plan their trip with its unique user-generated content, but also enables users to compare real-time pricing and availability so that they can book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, activities and attractions, and restaurants. TripAdvisor-branded websites include tripadvisor.com in the United States and localized versions of the website in 46 countries. In addition to the flagship TripAdvisor brand, TripAdvisor manages and operates 23 other travel media brands, connected by the common goal of providing comprehensive travel planning resources across the travel sector. A substantial portion of TripAdvisor’s revenue is derived from advertising, primarily through click-based advertising and, to a lesser extent, display-based advertising sales. In addition, TripAdvisor earns revenue through a combination of subscription-based and transaction-based offerings including: Business Listings; subscription and commission-based offerings from its Vacation Rental products, transaction revenue from selling room nights through Jetsetter and Tingo, selling destination activities and fulfilling online restaurant reservations through Viator and Lafourchette, respectively, and other revenue including content licensing.

BuySeasons is an online retailer and supplier of costumes, accessories, seasonal décor, and party supplies. BuySeasons is dedicated to offering a large selection at affordable prices through its brands BuyCostumes.com and Celebrate Express. BuySeasons acquired the family friendly retailer, Celebrate Express, in 2008. BuySeasons also operates a private-label drop ship program for other Internet retailers.

Spin-Off of TripCo from Liberty

Following the Trip Spin-Off, Liberty and TripCo operate as separate, publicly traded companies, and neither has any stock ownership, beneficial or otherwise, in the other. In connection with the Trip Spin-Off, TripCo entered into certain agreements, including the reorganization agreement, the services agreement, the facilities sharing agreement and the tax sharing agreement, with Liberty and/or Liberty Media Corporation (“Liberty Media”) (or certain of their subsidiaries) in order to govern certain of the ongoing relationships between the companies after the Trip Spin-Off and to provide for an orderly transition.

The reorganization agreement provides for, among other things, the principal corporate transactions (including the internal restructuring) required to effect the Trip Spin-Off, certain conditions to the Trip Spin-Off and provisions governing the relationship between TripCo and Liberty with respect to and resulting from the Trip Spin-Off.

Pursuant to the services agreement, Liberty Media provides TripCo with general and administrative services including legal, tax, accounting, treasury and investor relations support. TripCo will reimburse Liberty Media for direct, out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Liberty Media in providing these services and TripCo will pay a services fee to Liberty Media under the services agreement that will be subject to adjustment semi-annually, as necessary.  

Under the facilities sharing agreement, TripCo will share office space with Liberty, Liberty Media and Liberty Broadband Corporation (“LBC”) and related amenities at Liberty Media’s corporate headquarters in Englewood, Colorado.

The tax sharing agreement provides for the allocation and indemnification of tax liabilities and benefits between Liberty and TripCo and other agreements related to tax matters. Pursuant to the tax sharing agreement, TripCo has agreed to indemnify Liberty, subject to certain limited exceptions, for losses and taxes resulting from the Trip Spin-Off to the extent such losses or taxes result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate, the breach of certain restrictive covenants made by TripCo (applicable to actions or failures to act by TripCo and its subsidiaries following the completion of the Trip Spin-Off).

In October 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) completed its examination of the Trip Spin-Off and notified Liberty that it agreed with the nontaxable characterization of the transaction. Liberty executed a Closing Agreement with the IRS documenting this conclusion in 2015.