Hotwire is owned by Expedia Group—a major U.S.-based online travel conglomerate that owns and operates dozens of booking and price comparison platforms, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Trivago, Vrbo, Orbitz, and Travelocity. These platforms allow users to book hotel rooms, flights, car rentals, and vacation packages across the globe.
However, Expedia’s operations extend into illegally occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories. Through sites like Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and Trivago, the company promotes vacation rentals and hotel listings in Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian and Syrian land. These listings are often misleadingly labeled as being in “Israel”, erasing the illegality of the settlements and whitewashing the ongoing occupation.
Expedia has refused to comply with international law or U.N. recommendations to cease profiting from tourism in occupied territories. Its continued listings of properties in illegal settlements directly supports the economic normalization of apartheid and military occupation. The Palestinian BDS National Committee has named Expedia a boycott target for its role in profiting from war crimes.
Expedia Group receives a High Impact rating due to its global reach, market dominance, and sustained role in profiting from illegal Israeli settlements. The tourism industry plays a critical part in legitimizing the occupation of Palestinian land by bringing international visibility, financial support, and normalization to stolen territory. By continuing to list properties in these settlements, Expedia is not a neutral service provider, it is an active participant in whitewashing colonization.
Despite repeated calls from the international community and human rights organizations, Expedia has made no changes to its settlement listings, making it a priority target for those seeking to boycott companies complicit in apartheid.