Expedia POLITICAL

Research date: 26 October 2026 Target: Expedia Group, Inc., including relevant controlled travel-booking brands Scope: Corporate communications, settlement-related operations, governance, political advocacy, institutional relationships, and leadership activity Evidence periods: Historical records through October 2026

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Statements concerning Israel and Palestine

[pre-2020] In correspondence reproduced in Amnesty International’s January 2019 investigation, Expedia described its business as an online travel marketplace and said it sought to provide geographical transparency regarding accommodation in disputed territories. The company stated that its accommodation listings in occupied Palestinian territory identified properties as Israeli settlements and that it was reviewing the presentation of territorial information. The response did not announce a complete withdrawal from settlement accommodation. Whether every aspect of that historical policy remains operative in October 2026 is unverified.¹

Comparative public communications - Ukraine and Russia

On 3 March 2022, Expedia announced the suspension of travel sales into and out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Its statement said that it had ceased these sales in response to recent events and sanctions and expressed concern for affected travellers, partners, employees, and their families. Contemporary reporting also identified Vrbo as affected by the company’s decision.²

On 13 April 2022, Ukraine’s parliament published information from the State Agency for Tourism Development identifying Expedia among international booking services that had stopped operating in Russia following the invasion.³

As of the October 2026 review, no comparably specific verified Expedia corporate announcement suspending settlement accommodation bookings was identified. The company’s 2025 annual filing continued to describe a global travel marketplace offering accommodation through multiple brands.⁴

Market framing

Expedia’s 2025 Form 10-K describes the company as a global travel marketplace connecting travellers, partners, and advertisers. At the end of 2025, it reported approximately 3.6 million available lodging properties, including approximately 2.4 million online-bookable alternative accommodations through Vrbo and approximately 1.2 million properties through other brands.⁴

The filing presents accommodation distribution as part of a commercial marketplace business rather than describing the company’s purpose in terms of supporting any state’s territorial or geopolitical programme.⁴

Palestinian civilian harm and comparative silence

No public evidence identified in the reviewed material of a specific Expedia corporate statement responding to Palestinian civilian casualties with measures equivalent to its March 2022 suspension of Russia-related travel sales. This identifies a gap in the retrieved public record and does not establish that Expedia never issued other relevant communications.²

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Historical accommodation listings

[pre-2020] Amnesty International’s January 2019 investigation documented nine accommodation providers advertised through Expedia.com and Hotels.com in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Four were substantial hotels, and the remainder included smaller accommodation establishments and rental properties. The research covered practices documented during 2018–2019; the present status of each listing has not been independently verified.⁵

[pre-2020] Amnesty reported that Expedia’s two major accommodation websites displayed overlapping inventories. Its investigation identified four hotels with approximately 50–80 rooms, additional accommodation in occupied East Jerusalem, and properties in other West Bank settlements.⁵

[pre-2020] Amnesty reported that Expedia did not maintain a physical office in Israel or occupied Palestinian territory at the time but employed personnel responsible for business relationships with accommodation providers in the region. This is a historical finding; current staffing arrangements are unconfirmed.⁵

Occupied Golan Heights

AFSC Investigate identifies Expedia.com and Hotels.com as platforms listing accommodation in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territory. Its profile reports historical listings in the occupied Golan Heights as well as the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The profile does not establish a complete current property inventory for October 2026.⁶

Territorial labeling

[pre-2020] Amnesty’s January 2019 findings documented inconsistent territorial descriptions across Expedia-owned booking platforms. Six of nine identified properties were described by Expedia.com as Israeli settlements, while three were presented as being in Israel, including properties in East Jerusalem and Har Adar.⁵

[pre-2020] Amnesty reported that Hotels.com identified several of the same properties as Israeli settlements within Palestinian territory while describing two East Jerusalem properties as located in Israel. The company had separately acknowledged questions about territorial labeling and stated that it was reviewing how its platforms presented disputed locations.¹

UN settlement-business database

Expedia Group appears in the OHCHR settlement-related business database established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 31/36 and 53/25. Its presence is independently reflected in the AFSC Investigate record and the OHCHR-linked company data identified by OpenSanctions.⁷

The September 2026 OHCHR database update increased the total to 214 businesses from 11 countries. The UN Human Rights Council’s September 2026 proceedings described assessments of 126 additional enterprises, including 61 found to be involved in one or more listed activities. The UN presentation explained that the assessment considers whether business activity causes, contributes to, or is directly linked to adverse human-rights impacts.⁸

Expedia continued to be identified among companies in the updated settlement database in September 2026. This is supported by contemporary reporting and the continuing specialist company record; the complete 2026 annex and Expedia’s precise involvement classification were not independently reproduced in this audit.⁹

The UN database is an institutional human-rights reporting mechanism. Inclusion establishes that the company was identified under the database’s assessment framework; it does not by itself establish a criminal conviction or a comprehensive finding regarding every business activity.⁸

Civil-society investigations

[pre-2020] Amnesty International’s January 2019 publication, Destination: Occupation, identified Expedia, Airbnb, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor as digital travel businesses promoting accommodation or attractions in Israeli settlements. Amnesty called on the companies to cease providing settlement-related listings.¹⁰

[pre-2020] Amnesty’s accompanying publication stated that these companies’ commercial booking and promotion services generated business for settlement tourism and called for government regulation addressing the practice.¹¹

AFSC Investigate continues to identify Expedia Group within its settlement-industry research. Its company profile describes Expedia’s involvement through the advertising and booking of accommodation in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territory.⁶

Organized boycott activity

Ethical Consumer’s public boycott directory identifies a BDS National Committee boycott targeting Expedia, with a stated start year of 2024. The cited basis is Expedia’s advertising of accommodation in Israeli settlements.¹²

In November 2025, the BDS National Committee identified Expedia among companies examined in the Don’t Buy Into Occupation V discussion of corporate activity connected to Israel’s occupation. This documents continuing organized scrutiny after July and November 2024.¹³

In August 2025, the BDS National Committee published its No Room for Genocide organizing toolkit for hospitality and tourism businesses. It addresses the participation of hospitality providers in campaigns concerning the conflict and accountability for alleged war crimes; the toolkit is a broader sector initiative and is not, by itself, proof of an Expedia-specific operational change.¹⁴

Company response and subsequent conduct

[pre-2020] Expedia’s response to Amnesty, reproduced in the 2019 investigation, emphasized compliance with applicable laws, platform-based accommodation distribution, and transparency concerning disputed territories. The response did not commit to removing all settlement properties.¹

Expedia’s continuing identification in September 2026 settlement-database reporting provides evidence of institutional scrutiny after the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion and the International Criminal Court’s November 2024 arrest warrants. The reviewed sources do not establish which individual Expedia properties remained bookable on either specific date.⁹

Legal and regulatory proceedings

No public evidence identified in the reviewed records of a final court judgment holding Expedia Group criminally liable for operating a settlement accommodation booking service. OHCHR database inclusion and civil-society investigations are documented separately from criminal proceedings.⁸

The United Nations’ public record identifies the 31st meeting of the Human Rights Council’s 63rd session as taking place on 29 September 2026. The UN Web TV schedule independently places meeting 31 on that date, and the UN Transcripts page records its opening by the Council President. This confirms the date given in the existing Political End Note 8 and corrects the October 2026 date attributed to the same meeting in Military. The transcript is automatically generated and is not an official verbatim record. The meeting date should also be distinguished from the OHCHR database report’s publication date of 25 September 2026.^{8, 15}

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations and political expression

No public evidence identified of Expedia disciplining, dismissing, or otherwise sanctioning employees specifically for pro-Palestinian speech, Palestinian political symbols, Gaza-related protest activity, or related union advocacy.

No public evidence identified of an Expedia lawsuit against a union concerning Palestine-related political speech.

Platform content and editorial governance

[pre-2020] Amnesty’s investigation identified the geographical classification and presentation of settlement accommodation as a significant issue involving Expedia.com and Hotels.com. The investigation documented different location descriptions for properties situated in occupied territory.⁵

The verified historical evidence concerns accommodation metadata and geographical descriptions. No public evidence identified of a specifically documented Expedia algorithmic suppression programme targeting Palestinian political speech or Gaza-related editorial content.

Regulatory platform policies

Expedia Group’s published 2024 EU Platform-to-Business complaints report described the company’s procedures for handling complaints from accommodation and activity providers. The report categorized complaints relating to listing content, inventory settings, financial matters, reservation management, and technical issues. It did not identify a dedicated Israel-Palestine complaint category.¹⁶

Retail classification and consumer presentation

[pre-2020] Amnesty documented accommodation listings in occupied territory that were displayed using Israel-based geographic descriptions or settlement labels. The relevant practice involved the categorization of tourism accommodation and its location rather than the physical labeling of manufactured products.⁵

No public evidence identified of Expedia purchasing or selling settlement-manufactured physical products under a specific disputed-origin labeling programme.

Additional consumer-platform scrutiny

In July 2024, UK consumer organization Which? published an investigation concerning advertised mobile-exclusive accommodation discounts. Its sample found instances involving Expedia and Hotels.com in which mobile offers did not provide the advertised comparative price benefit. This was a general consumer-pricing investigation and did not establish an Israel-Palestine-specific content or retail policy.¹⁷

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Corporate branding and historical positioning

Expedia’s 2025 annual filing presents the company as a commercial travel marketplace operating through consumer brands, business partnerships, advertising, and digital technology. Its declared business purpose is facilitating travel research, booking, and related services.⁴

No public evidence identified that Expedia’s core corporate identity uses Israeli military heritage, Israeli defence-sector origins, or an Israeli state-security mission as a commercial branding theme.

State tourism and destination promotion

[pre-2020] Amnesty’s investigation described how global accommodation platforms, including Expedia, promoted properties within Israeli settlements and facilitated visitor bookings. This establishes documented commercial tourism promotion through the company’s websites during the historical period investigated.¹⁰

No public evidence identified of Expedia directly sponsoring a named Israeli government public-diplomacy campaign, state cultural programme, or settlement-promotion event using a documented corporate sponsorship agreement.

Government and academic institutional partnerships

No public evidence identified of a formal Expedia partnership with an Israeli military academy, military-intelligence institution, settlement university, or state-sponsored geopolitical advocacy programme.

Honours and institutional recognition

No public evidence identified of Expedia accepting an Israeli state honour specifically connected with support for the occupation, military operations, or settlement expansion.

Settlement-event sponsorship

No public evidence identified of Expedia sponsoring a named settlement inauguration, territorial expansion ceremony, or advocacy event supporting settlement construction.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Corporate lobbying

Publicly indexed US Lobbying Disclosure Act records identify Expedia Group’s federal lobbying activity in 2025–2026. Named external firms include Monument Advocacy, HB Strategies, and S-3 Group. Reported issue categories include travel and tourism, trade, and consumer matters.¹⁸

The lobbying record aggregates approximately $1.36 million in reported expenditure and outside-firm fees across the indexed 2025–2026 period. The amounts relate to multiple policy matters and cannot be allocated to Israel-related advocacy without specific filing-level evidence.¹⁸

No public evidence identified in the retrieved lobbying information of an Expedia instruction to lobby for Israeli settlements, oppose Palestinian statehood, support Israeli military assistance, or advance anti-BDS legislation.

Political organizations and pressure groups

No public evidence identified of Expedia Group holding a corporate leadership position in AIPAC, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an Israeli settlement advocacy organization, or a comparable regional geopolitical pressure group.

No public evidence identified of a specifically attributable Expedia corporate political donation to such an organization.

Corporate financial contributions

No public evidence identified of Expedia Group directly donating corporate funds to:

• Israel Defense Forces or Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
• Jewish National Fund or Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael settlement projects.
• Regavim or Im Tirtzu.
• Israeli reservist support organizations.
• Settlement construction organizations or settlement-based military-welfare funds.

Commercial revenue connected with settlements

[pre-2020] Amnesty documented Expedia’s commercial booking relationship with settlement accommodation providers and described the company’s commission-based travel-booking business model. The investigation did not provide a verified aggregate value of Expedia’s settlement-related booking revenue.⁵

AFSC Investigate identifies settlement accommodation bookings as the mechanism connecting Expedia’s platform services with settlement businesses. The available profile does not quantify Expedia’s current revenue from those services.⁶

Humanitarian donations and matching programmes

No public evidence identified of an Expedia corporate employee-matching programme specifically financing FIDF, IDF welfare organizations, settlement charities, or military reservist fundraising.

No public evidence identified of a dated Expedia humanitarian contribution to an Israeli organization that can independently be connected to military or settlement financing.

Crisis-related asset mobilization

No public evidence identified of Expedia directly supplying accommodation, transport, communications infrastructure, booking credits, or other corporate resources to the Israeli military during the Gaza war.

No public evidence identified of a verified Expedia corporate agreement providing free travel logistics for Israeli reservists, military personnel, or settlement security organizations.

Post-July and November 2024 activity

The BDS National Committee’s November 2025 publication continued to identify Expedia in its discussion of businesses connected to the occupation, while Expedia remained identified in September 2026 reporting on OHCHR’s settlement database. These dated records establish continuing external attention and listing after the relevant 2024 international legal developments.¹³

No public evidence identified establishing that Expedia announced a new military-donation programme, settlement-event sponsorship, or Israel-specific lobbying initiative after either date.

The primary public record establishing Expedia’s inclusion in the September 2026 OHCHR settlement-business database is United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report A/HRC/63/20, dated 25 September 2026. Annex I, printed page 12, entry 72, explicitly identifies Expedia Group Inc., gives its home state as the United States of America, assigns listed activity (e) and classifies its involvement in adverse impacts on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination as Contribution. Activity (e) concerns services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport. This directly confirms the existing Political statement under “Post-July and November 2024 activity” that Expedia remained identified in September 2026 OHCHR reporting, and supplies the missing contemporaneous primary citation. Existing End Note 13, dated 25 November 2025, supports the separate BDS publication claim but cannot independently establish the September 2026 database status. The report establishes Expedia’s inclusion and OHCHR’s assessment classification; it does not establish individual property bookings on the July or November 2024 dates.¹⁹

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Corporate formation and purpose

Expedia Group, Inc. is a publicly traded United States corporation. Its 2025 Form 10-K describes a global travel marketplace connecting travellers with lodging suppliers, airlines, rental-car providers, and other travel-related businesses.⁴

As of 31 December 2025, Expedia reported approximately 3.6 million available lodging properties, including Vrbo alternative accommodation inventory. The scale and nature of its activities are disclosed within the company’s commercial travel-marketplace business description.⁴

Ownership and control

The company’s April 2026 definitive proxy statement identifies Barry Diller as chairman and describes the board’s governance arrangements. The proxy also identifies the current slate of 11 directors and the allocation of director-election rights under Expedia’s certificate of incorporation.²⁰

Barry Diller is identified in Expedia’s proxy disclosures as a significant shareholder. The disclosures establish an influential governance role but do not themselves demonstrate an Israeli state-directed corporate mandate.²¹

Group attribution

Expedia’s corporate disclosures identify its accommodation platforms and associated business operations as part of the group’s travel marketplace. The Expedia.com and Hotels.com settlement findings therefore concern services associated with the Expedia corporate group during the documented period.⁴

Expedia’s historical ownership of travel brands does not by itself establish current control over every business previously associated with the group. The 2025 annual filing and 2026 proxy are the controlling references for contemporary corporate structure and governance in this audit.⁴

State-held rights and founding mandate

No public evidence identified in Expedia’s reviewed SEC governance disclosures of an Israeli government golden share, special state appointment right, military command relationship, or founding charter requiring promotion of Israeli geopolitical objectives.²⁰

No public evidence identified of a corporate foundational mandate directing Expedia to finance Israeli defence, military intelligence, or settlement infrastructure.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Current leadership

Expedia’s April 2026 proxy statement identifies Ariane Gorin as chief executive officer and board director and Barry Diller as chairman. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K identifies Scott Schenkel as chief financial officer.²²

The 2026 director slate includes Barry Diller, Ariane Gorin, Chelsea Clinton, Dara Khosrowshahi, Alexandr Wang, Alex von Furstenberg, Henrique Dubugras, Beverly Anderson, M. Moina Banerjee, Craig Jacobson, and Patricia Menendez Cambo.²⁰

Barry Diller - chairman and significant shareholder

Expedia’s 2025 proxy identified Barry Diller as chairman and a significant shareholder, reflecting a continuing governance relationship documented in subsequent SEC filings.²¹

No public evidence identified in the retrieved sources of a dated personal donation by Diller or an identified Diller-controlled foundation to FIDF, IDF military-welfare organizations, Israeli settlement construction, or a named settlement advocacy campaign.

No public evidence identified of Diller personally sponsoring a named Israeli settlement event or holding a confirmed board seat in an Israeli military fundraising organization.

Ariane Gorin - chief executive officer

Expedia’s proxy disclosures describe Gorin’s leadership career within Expedia’s travel businesses and identify her as CEO and director from 2024 onward.²²

No public evidence identified in the reviewed sources of Gorin directing corporate assets to Israeli military organizations, personally funding settlement activities, or holding a named leadership position in an anti-BDS organization.

Dara Khosrowshahi - director and former CEO

Expedia’s proxy identifies Khosrowshahi as an Expedia director and former chief executive officer, with his CEO tenure ending in August 2017. His current corporate affiliations are distinguished in the proxy from his historical Expedia leadership responsibilities.²¹

No public evidence identified in the retrieved material of a specific Khosrowshahi-directed Expedia donation to Israeli military or settlement organizations.

Chelsea Clinton - director

Expedia’s April 2026 proxy identifies Chelsea Clinton as a member of its board of directors.²⁰

No public evidence identified in the reviewed sources of a verified Expedia-attributable military donation, settlement sponsorship, or anti-BDS lobbying instruction made by Clinton in her capacity as an Expedia director.

Alexandr Wang - director

Expedia’s April 2026 proxy identifies Alexandr Wang among its director nominees.²⁰

No public evidence identified establishing that Wang directed Expedia to provide services to the Israeli military, fund settlement organizations, or participate in Israel-related political lobbying.

Other directors

Expedia’s April 2026 proxy also identifies Beverly Anderson, M. Moina Banerjee, Henrique Dubugras, Craig Jacobson, Patricia Menendez Cambo, and Alex von Furstenberg as directors.²⁰

No public evidence identified in the retrieved sources of a transaction directly linking these individuals, acting for Expedia, to Israeli military fundraising, settlement financing, or anti-Palestinian advocacy programmes.

Personal philanthropy

No public evidence identified establishing dated, transaction-level grants from an identified Expedia controlling principal or their personal foundation to FIDF, JNF/KKL settlement activities, Israeli reservist organizations, or settlement advocacy groups.

Public advocacy and statements

No public evidence identified of a verified statement by a current Expedia controlling principal, explicitly made on the company’s behalf, calling for support of Israeli military operations, the expansion of Israeli settlements, or the suppression of Palestinian political advocacy.

Institutional appointments

No public evidence identified of a current Expedia controlling principal holding a documented leadership appointment in an Israeli military-welfare organization, settlement development authority, or anti-BDS political advocacy organization in connection with their Expedia position.

End Notes follow.