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Expedia Group

Expedia Group

Expedia Group is one of the world's leading travel technology platforms.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Valentina Schaumburger (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and Booking.com B.V. and

11 Mar 2025 · Implementation of the STR Regulation

Meeting with Alex Agius Saliba (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

30 Jan 2025 · stakeholders meeting on Package Travel Directive

Meeting with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and International Road Transport Union Permanent Delegation to the EU and

30 Jan 2025 · Package Travel Directive

Meeting with Sophia Kircher (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Jan 2025 · Package Travel Directive

Meeting with Nikolina Brnjac (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion)

23 Oct 2024 · Package Travel Directive

Expedia Group urges fairer refund rules for package travel organisers

7 Mar 2024
Topic — The Commission is reviewing whether current rules ensure robust consumer protection for package travel.
Message — The group requests aligning cancellation rights and calls for ringfencing flight costs via escrow.12
Why — Sharing refund burdens with airlines would reduce financial strain and help prevent price increases.3
Impact — Airlines would lose their ability to avoid refund obligations when flights are not cancelled.4
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Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Airlines for Europe and

22 Feb 2024 · Stakeholder Meetings on Passenger Mobility Package

Meeting with Frances Fitzgerald (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Aug 2023 · PSR

Expedia Group Urges EU to Allow Sustainability Label Comparisons

14 Jul 2023
Topic — EU proposal to regulate how companies prove their environmental claims.
Message — Expedia requests permission for travel platforms to compare different green labels using a tiered rating system. They suggest using standardized attributes to reflect the ambition level of various schemes.12
Why — This allows Expedia to introduce search filters that boost user engagement and bookings.34
Impact — Strict certification schemes may lose their market advantage to lower-barrier sustainability programs.5
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Meeting with Maurits-Jan Prinz (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

26 Jun 2023 · Tourism and Package Travel

Meeting with Pablo Fabregas Martinez (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean), Rachel Smit (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

23 May 2023 · Meeting on Pax Rights review.

Meeting with Josianne Cutajar (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion) and Airbnb Ireland UC and

26 Apr 2023 · Short Term-Rentals Regulation

Meeting with Isabelle Perignon (Cabinet of Commissioner Didier Reynders)

20 Apr 2023 · EU rules on Package Travel and consumer protection

Meeting with Kim Van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

21 Mar 2023 · Short-Term Rental

Meeting with Josianne Cutajar (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion) and Airbnb Ireland UC

15 Feb 2023 · Short Term-Rentals Regulation

Meeting with István Ujhelyi (Member of the European Parliament) and Airbnb Ireland UC

14 Feb 2023 · Short time rental-Tourism

Response to Short-term rental initiative

12 Jan 2023

Expedia Group has long been calling for an EU-wide initiative on short-term rental (STR) services addressing the regulatory fragmentation in Europe. STRs are an increasingly important part of the tourism sector, as recognised by the European Commission. They represent nearly one quarter of the total EU supply of tourist accommodation, and this has been boosted by the emergence of online platforms. Not only do they represent an additional source of income for European citizens, but they also contribute to the economic growth of local communities and help promote alternative and sustainable forms of tourism, including by spreading tourism outside of urban areas and more generally distributing tourism flows. This has been the case especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when STRs contributed to shifting tourist demand and flows from hotspots (cities) to less well-known, rural destinations. However, the sector currently faces a number of regulatory challenges, including a high degree of legislative fragmentation among and within Member States (for instance on registration schemes, taxes, night caps etc.), disproportionate data requests, and a lack of legal clarity on provisions related to professional and peer service providers. In addition, Member States often approve and enforce national laws which do not comply with EU legislation on e-commerce and unfairly hold platforms liable for not assessing compliance by hosts with the several, national and different rules applicable to STRs. For these reasons, we believe that the Commissions initiative on data collection and sharing in the STR sector is not only timely, but also necessary. We welcome the Commissions proposal, which aims to make data sharing between platforms and authorities more efficient and provide the industry with much needed clarity. We are in favour of a maximum harmonisation of rules for registration schemes and data-sharing requirements concerning online STR platforms and welcome the explicit statement in Recital 4 that Member States will not be able to legislate on access to data from online short-term rental platforms outside the specific regime laid down in the present Regulation. We would recommend including this point also in articles. Expedia Group has been in favour of a unique simple registration scheme at the EU level. While national, regional and local-level registration schemes that are in line with common EU-wide requirements, as proposed by the Commission, are a welcome step, we believe an EU-wide registration scheme would be the most effective way to collect data from hosts on properties they rent out as STR. Expedia Group recognises that platforms must take their responsibility and cooperate in creating increased transparency in the STR sector. Where simple online registration schemes for STR owners are implemented, online platforms are willing to display registration numbers, assist upon request in their verification through APIs, respond to delisting requests and help to inform STR providers of their obligations. We welcome the clear and harmonized data sharing obligations for platforms, as proposed by the Commission, which are limited to precise set of data, i.e. activity data, registration number and listings URL, and are to be reported in a systemic manner. We support proportionate compliance by design obligations, which build on the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and would welcome further alignment of the provisions with the DSA. As the proposal is limited in scope and does not address the key issue of proportionality of national market access rules, we would encourage the legislators to include an additional provision in the text mandating the Commission to issue guidance in this regard in the future, once the new data collection and sharing rules have provided local authorities with the necessary information to better manage the STR sector.
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Meeting with Kim Van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Sept 2022 · Housing

Response to Short-term rental initiative

14 Oct 2021

Expedia Group welcomes the European Commission’s decision to develop a ‘Short-term rental initiative’ in order to promote a responsible, fair and trusted vacation rental sector – and more broadly a well-balanced tourism ecosystem. Having harmonised guidance at the EU level that is tailored to the needs and priorities of the sector will help ensure a level-playing field between accommodation service providers, consumer protection, evidence-based decision making, as well as protect the economic benefits brought about by STR activities. We are proud to support engagement with policymakers and stakeholders to share best practices and develop regulatory frameworks that provide simple, practical and enforceable measures for vacation rentals. In order to support the recovery and regrowth of the sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a need to develop measures that are evidence-based, fair and future-proof, and that account for the important role played by short-term rentals. The sector however currently faces a number of regulatory challenges, including a high degree of legislative fragmentation among and within Member States (for instance on registration schemes, taxes, night caps etc.), disproportionate data requests, and a lack of legal clarity on provisions related to professional and peer service providers. In addition, Member States often adopt and enforce national laws which do not comply with EU legislation on e-commerce and unfairly hold platforms liable for not assessing compliance by hosts with the several, national and different rules applicable to STRs. For these reasons, we believe that the Commission’s STR initiative is not only timely, but also necessary. This being said, there are a number of elements which we believe should be carefully taken into consideration and be at the core of the Commission’s proposal: 1. Data sharing obligations: Any data sharing obligations for online platforms should take into consideration the existing regulatory framework (DAC 7, DSA, Data Act, Code of Conduct for data sharing in the tourism sector, Eurostat agreement) and aim to fill in gaps – if any, rather than impose additional disproportionate and unnecessary requirements. 2. Address legal fragmentation: Expedia Group welcomes the possibility of a simple, easily accessible, registration scheme for STR providers at the national level across the EU applicable in the jurisdictions where a registration number is needed. Such a scheme could also ensure authorities access to relevant data without duplicating requests. The Commission should also take into consideration the differences between peer and professional providers in accordance with the KYBC principle in the DSA and the definitions introduced under the New Deal for Consumers. 3. Relationship with technical notification mechanisms: The initiative should guarantee that when regulating STR platforms, Member States respect the technical notification requirements under the TRIS Directive. Expedia Group stands ready to continue to engage with policymakers at the EU, national and local level, and to work together to build a more sustainable, fair and innovative European tourism ecosystem. We look forward to participating constructively in discussions on the STR initiative and look forward to seeing what the Commission has in store.
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Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and eu travel tech and

8 Jul 2021 · EU Digital COVID Certificate

Meeting with Filomena Chirico (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

17 Feb 2021 · DSA, DMA and tourism sector

Meeting with Michele Piergiovanni (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Penelope Papandropoulos (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager) and

9 Feb 2021 · DMA

Meeting with Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

8 Feb 2021 · DSA, DMA

Meeting with Pauline Weinzierl (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton), Valère Moutarlier (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

15 Sept 2020 · Exchange of views on the impact of the Covid on Tourism

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

27 Aug 2020 · Patronage vouchers

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

11 Jun 2020 · Impact of COVID-19 (virtual)

Meeting with David Boublil (Cabinet of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici) and eu travel tech

22 Jun 2017 · New taxation in Italy of short term real estate leases