Expedia Group, Inc. Modern Slavery Statement  

Expedia Group, Inc. is one of world’s largest travel platforms. We leverage platform and technology capabilities across an extensive portfolio of businesses and brands to orchestrate the movement of people and the delivery of travel experiences on both a local and global basis.   

Our platform includes travel products and services provided by partners offering lodging accommodation, activities, air travel, cruises, car rentals, and other travel product and service offerings.  We also offer travel and non-travel advertisers access to media and advertising services through our websites. To learn more about our financial and operational results as provided in our Annual Report, Quarterly Earnings, Events and Presentations filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, please visit our Investors page.  

Our mission is to power global travel for everyone, everywhere.   

We believe that travel is a force for good. When we power more travel, we unleash more opportunities to strengthen connections, broaden horizons and bridge divides. Our business seeks to open the travel ecosystem to people around the world, by powering Expedia Group’s platform to bridge barriers and shape a more inclusive and sustainable world. We believe that Human Rights are foundational to our company values and affirm them as a driving force behind decisions that we make.   

In keeping with this belief, we take our roles in travel seriously. This includes taking seriously and working to play our part in the issue of modern slavery and human trafficking prevention and eradication.  

As part of our ongoing efforts, Expedia Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including those listed below, provide the following modern slavery prevention statement.  

Expedia Group respects human rights and workplace rights.  Expedia Group is committed to conducting its business in a manner that protects these rights, and prohibits and opposes all forms of modern slavery, servitude, forced labor and human trafficking.  

In an effort to effectively integrate human rights considerations across all facets of our work, Expedia Group is in the process of embedding a human rights approach across the company following a formal Human Rights Salience Assessment. This approach is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGPs”). We also participate in collaborative initiatives to explore best practices and discuss and share learnings with peer companies striving to respect human rights.  

Policies and Practices  

Code of Conduct  

The Boarding Pass sets forth our core principles and values, and expectations regarding responsible and ethical business conduct (our “Code of Conduct”).  As such, our Code of Conduct provides the standards of integrity that Expedia Group requires all of our directors and employees to follow.  The Boarding Pass is our commitment to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, including respecting human rights and workplace rights, opposing modern slavery and human trafficking of any kind, as well as providing guidance on how to report any violations of our Code of Conduct.  Expedia Group endeavors to maintain business relationships with agents, independent contractors, consultants, and other business partners that are similarly committed to the principles, values and expectations outlined in The Boarding Pass.  

Social Impact Engagement  

We have a strong culture of engagement both within our company and with the cultures and communities in which we work. We encourage, support and have direct action programs at multiple levels of civil society engagement, including across Inclusion & Diversity, Social Impact, and Sustainable Travel.   

Our Global Impact Report can be viewed here.  

Our Global Inclusion & Diversity Report can be viewed here. Expedia Group is also signatory to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ Pledge.  

Enhanced partnerships and industry efforts  

Global Initiatives 

Expedia Group also engages in a number of initiatives focused on eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking at the broader industry level, including in particular: 

  • Being a founding member of the anti-trafficking task force within the World Tourism Trade Council;  
  • Partnering with UNESCO to form the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge, an open-industry initiative first piloted in Thailand, and recently expanded to operate across the globe, with a strong focus on community engagement and support, to strengthen local communities, including in tourism destinations that may otherwise be at risk to modern slavery and trafficking.   

Travel Suppliers and Third Party Vendors 

While Expedia Group’s own business does not extend to operating planes, hotels, rental cars, guided tours, cruise ships or other direct travel operator services, Expedia Group is conscious of the supply chain and travel industry context in which we operate.  We accordingly continue to seek ways to utilize our systems to assist our travel suppliers and partners in identifying potential instances of human trafficking, and enhance their own monitoring. In the past 18 months these efforts have included:  

  • Running a full year’s analysis on booking data and patterns, including developing bespoke algorithmic analysis, applying fraud operational analysis, and working together with the US Department of Justice to help identify suspicious activity in relation to potential human slavery and trafficking;   
  • Joining the Blue Lightning Initiative under the US Department of National Security to access data and information that will help us detect trafficking on our platform;  
  • Establishing a full internal and partner-engaging set of procedures on flagging suspicious bookings and patterns, including specific ‘Amber alert’ urgent and criminal level procedures;  
  • Bringing together into one team all traveller Trust and Safety functions across all brands on our platform. 

These efforts continue to enhance and develop. Expedia Group will monitor, manage, and track performance against this statement and our Human Rights Commitments to achieve continual improvement on human rights. We report our human rights performance on an annual basis as part of our Global Impact Report which details our progress over the course of the previous 12 months.    

In addition, we endeavor to maintain business relationships with travel suppliers and third-party vendors that are committed to respecting human rights and workplace rights.    Expedia Group requires its supply chain to adhere to its Vendor Code of Conduct:  

https://www.expediagroup.com/about/vendor-code-of-conduct/  

The Vendor Code of Conduct sets out our foundational expectations in relation to all supplier and third party vendor behavior and activity, including in the area of combatting modern slavery. Noncompliance with the code can lead to Expedia Group ceasing to do business with a vendor or supplier.  

Employees  

Expedia Group respects and values our employees.  To ensure that our employees are not subject to undue influence and are treated fairly and with respect, we have human resource policies and procedures, as well as recruitment processes, in place across all of our operations.  

Awareness and Training  

As indicated above, The Boarding Pass specifically asserts Expedia Group’s respect for human rights and opposition to human trafficking.  We require all of our directors and employees, including all executive officers and senior financial officers, to comply with our Code of Conduct.  At new hire orientation and training, and periodically thereafter, all employees receive a copy of and are required to attest to receiving and understanding The Boarding Pass.  

Additionally, Expedia Group has worked with the Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST) Alliance to roll out workplace and supply chain awareness training to assist our employees in identifying signs and forms of sexual and labor trafficking. Thanks to this collaboration, the latest BEST training is available to Expedia Group employees through internal channels.  

Whistleblowing  

Expedia Group maintains a twenty-four hour phone hotline (managed by an independent third party, EthicsPoint) for employees to raise concerns without fear of retaliation.  Employees can confidentially report any concerns, which may include concerns relating to modern slavery and human trafficking.  These reports are then investigated in accordance with company policies and procedures.  

Accountability  

The Boarding Pass governs and guides the business conduct of Expedia Group and our employees.  As we hold ourselves to these high ethical principles and values, we endeavor to ensure that the business conduct of our travel suppliers and vendors comply with all laws and that travel suppliers and vendors embrace our ethical principles and values.  

Violations of The Boarding Pass by our employees may subject them to disciplinary action, including dismissal (unless prohibited by law).  We also reserve the right, pursuant to contractual provisions or to the extent permitted by law, to terminate relationships with third parties who violate our Code of Conduct or who otherwise engage in illegal activities.  

By building out and enhancing these programs and partnerships, we aim both to provide the culture, tools and pathways for the prevention of human trafficking and modern slavery in our own direct operations, and to leverage a positive role in the travel sector by offering examples and tools that can influence and enable ever-improving work among our partners, such as airlines and hotels, where they face risk in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking prevention.  

Consistent with our ongoing review of our business practices, and as the understanding of and approaches to address the complex issues of modern slavery and human trafficking develop, we expect to further refine our policies and practices where necessary and to assess areas for collaboration with our suppliers through which we can work together to further mitigate the risks of modern slavery within our businesses and supply chains.

We are committed to transparency to our stakeholders, including sharing information that will allow our customers, users and partners to make decisions in line with a human rights-based approach.  

This Statement was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Expedia Group, Inc.

Peter_Kern_Signature

 Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  

On behalf of the Expedia Group, Inc. Board of Directors  

This statement is made pursuant to both section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015 (overview and other supporting information here) and section 6 of the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018 (overview and other supporting information here).  

This statement is for the financial year 1 January 2021 ending 31 December 2021.   

This statement relates to Expedia Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. These include:  

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