Chief Executive Officer & President of TheFork, Tripadvisor
Search every verified Almir Ambeskovic interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Almir Ambeskovic, Chief Executive Officer and President of TheFork at Tripadvisor, has discussed the company's role in supporting the restaurant industry during the pandemic. In a 2021 interview, he stated that TheFork collaborated with delivery services without charging fees to help restaurants operate during a difficult year. He noted a 53% increase in bookings over three weeks as restrictions eased, and said that from June 1, indoor dining would resume, further boosting growth. Ambeskovic also mentioned that TheFork offered gift cards without commission and provided software worth several million euros to aid restaurants. Ambeskovic has emphasized the importance of mobile technology for TheFork's business, stating in a 2018 keynote that 86% of bookings come from mobile devices. He described the company's strategy of focusing on app downloads and word-of-mouth to reduce reliance on paid traffic. In earlier appearances, he discussed the challenges of fundraising in Italy, noting that it took two and a half years to raise 200,000 euros for his startup, and reflected on the difficulties of building a startup ecosystem in the country. He has also addressed the no-show issue in fine dining, stating that TheFork aimed to bring common solutions for everyone.
“We have helped restaurants economically by offering our software worth several million euros and organized initiatives like 'Return to the Restaurant' involving 10,000 restaurants to support the industry heavily hit by the pandemic.”
“TheFork gift cards are like Amazon gift cards but instead of spending money on Amazon, you spend it in restaurants, and we do not charge any commission, making it a concrete way to help restaurants recover.”
“We see a strong recovery in restaurant bookings proportional to the easing of restrictions, with a 53% increase in bookings over three weeks, and from June 1st, indoor dining will resume, which will further boost growth.”
“TheFork acts as a connection between restaurants and customers, moving millions of people through 80,000 restaurants, and we have a responsibility to play a key role in helping the industry restart.”
“Our competitive advantage lies in helping restaurants attract and retain customers by offering dynamic pricing tools that allow restaurants to adjust prices based on demand, similar to how airlines or Amazon operate.”
“During the pandemic, we collaborated with delivery services to help restaurants without charging any fees, aiming to give them a chance to operate during a difficult year.”
“The biggest fixed costs for TheFork are personnel and technology, and despite the pandemic, we managed to maintain our team motivated and intact, which was not easy.”
“The problem of finding personnel in the restaurant industry is real, but I believe the bigger challenge is to have a business with returning customers; the restaurants will find solutions for staffing.”
“Online reviews are a double-edged sword; while they can attract more customers, they can also lead to unfair treatment where customers who leave positive reviews get better service.”
“If I were to start from zero in the restaurant business, I would launch a chain of Italian restaurants worldwide, leveraging the strong 'Made in Italy' brand and optimizing costs through scale.”
“Once we closed the first round, within a year we multiplied our investment by 15 times and then sold to Tripadvisor. That year was incredible because before that it was total frustration, but we learned a lot and finally had the means to grow.”
“In Italy, the restaurant market is the largest in Europe for this business vertical, even though Italy is considered third in total size. This made it a fantastic signal for us to invest and grow here.”
“Generating web traffic costs a lot of money and Google makes a lot from it, but if the user comes to your app, it costs less to acquire them. We could even turn off our website investments and still grow because of strong brand awareness and word of mouth.”
“After Tripadvisor acquired us, they asked about our plans for other countries. We were opening Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Turkey, but Italy was considered a difficult market. They told us Italy had to be our next market because it has huge potential.”
“Italy competes with the United States as the country with the highest monthly traffic for restaurants. No other country in the world uses these services as much locally as Italy does, which makes the traffic and contributions in Italy significantly higher than other countries.”
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