The terms heavily favor Expedia and travel suppliers: limited cancellation rights, broad liability disclaimers, mandatory arbitration, and extensive data sharing reduce user control. There are a few user-positive notes, like account deletion and some ad-sharing opt-out, but overall the posture is more protective of the company than the traveler.
Expedia’s legal terms are fairly standard for an online travel marketplace, but they place much of the booking risk on the traveler. The company uses broad data collection and sharing practices, including advertising partners and third-party tools, while also offering some practical controls like account deletion and an opt-out for certain targeted-ad sharing for some U.S. residents.
Points of interest
U.S. claims are subject to binding arbitration and a class action waiver. This can limit your ability to sue in court or join with other users in a class action.
"Section 15 (Disputes and arbitration) below contains an arbitration agreement and class action waiver that apply to all claims brought against us in the United States."
Expedia can update the Terms at any time, and continued use counts as acceptance. That means the rules governing your bookings can change without your explicit consent, so it’s important to re-check the terms before future purchases.
"We may make changes to these Terms by updating them at any time and your continued use of our Service after any changes come into effect will constitute your acceptance of the updated Terms."
Content you submit, including reviews and photos, can be used worldwide, forever, and sublicensed by Expedia. Practically, you give up a lot of control over how your submissions are reused.
"you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, irrevocable and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, distribute, publish and make available such Content worldwide, forever"
You generally cannot cancel or change a booking unless the travel provider allows it. If a change is permitted, you may still owe provider fees and Expedia’s own administration fee.
"You do not have an automatic right to cancel or change a booking unless allowed by the relevant Travel Provider under their Rules and Restrictions"
Expedia shares personal data across Expedia Group and with service providers, travel suppliers, business partners, advertising partners, social platforms, and connected apps/tools. That increases the number of places your data can end up and means privacy depends partly on third parties.
"We share your personal data within Expedia Group... We share personal data with third parties to assist with the delivery of services to you and the operation of our business."
Expedia may disclose your data to marketing partners for targeted advertising, and some U.S. residents can opt out. Opting out may reduce personalization and travel recommendations.
"We may disclose your personal data to our third-party marketing partners for targeted advertising."
If you use a connected app, AI assistant, plug-in, or API tool, those third parties’ terms and privacy policies apply. Expedia says you are responsible for tools you authorize, which shifts risk away from Expedia.
"If you choose to use a third-party app, AI assistant, plug-in, API, AI connection tool... these third parties are independently responsible for their processing of personal data under their own privacy policies."
Expedia provides a deletion process in the account area or Help Center. That gives users a clear path to close an account, though the policy should still be checked for any retained records.
"For information on how to delete your account, sign into your account on our Service and follow the applicable account deletion process or visit our Help Center."
Expedia says exact real-time location is collected only with your consent. That is better than silent collection, though other location signals are still collected.
"Geolocation data – including inferred location from IP address, country selected to use our website, and exact, real-time location (with your consent)"
The policy says some U.S. residents can opt out of targeted-ad sharing. This can reduce ad personalization and some recommendation features, but it is a meaningful privacy control.
"some US residents have the right to opt out of having personal data shared for this purpose."
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Documents
Terms of Service
source ↗- •By using Expedia to book travel, you must accept these Terms and the Travel Provider’s Rules and Restrictions shown before booking.
- •You agree to use the service for personal, non-commercial purposes, provide accurate information, and follow restrictions on accounts, automation, and linking.
- •Bookings are confirmed by a Booking Confirmation sent by email, and Expedia may also send SMS updates based on your communication choices.
- •Prices can change before booking or in cases of obvious error; Expedia may correct pricing and may cancel without penalty for apparent pricing mistakes.
- •You can generally cancel or change only as allowed by the Travel Provider, and you may owe provider fees plus a possible Expedia administration fee.
- •Refunds, if available, are sent back to the original payment method by the party that took your payment, and Expedia’s fees are generally non-refundable unless stated.
- •Expedia largely disclaims liability for travel providers’ acts or service issues, provides content “as is,” and limits damages to direct, foreseeable losses caused by Expedia.
- •You must indemnify Expedia for third-party claims caused by your breach, unlawful conduct, misuse, or your submitted content, except where Expedia caused the loss directly.
- •You grant broad rights to Expedia to use user content you submit, including reviews and media, on a worldwide, perpetual, sublicensable basis.
- •Disputes in the U.S. are subject to a binding arbitration agreement with a class action waiver and a pre-arbitration notice/negotiation step.
Privacy Policy
source ↗- •Expedia collects identifiers, payment details, travel preferences, device and location data, communications, reviews, and limited sensitive information.
- •It may collect data you provide, data from your devices and interactions, social media accounts, suppliers, and other third parties.
- •Expedia uses personal data to provide bookings and support, process payments, detect fraud, personalize content, run AI features, and improve services.
- •It may use precise location only with your consent and says sensitive data is used only for the purpose it was collected.
- •Expedia shares data within Expedia Group and with service providers, travel suppliers, business partners, advertising partners, social platforms, and connected apps or AI tools.
- •Travel suppliers may receive contact, payment, booking, and preference information needed to fulfill reservations or assist with booking issues.
- •Expedia may share data for legal compliance, enforcement, tax reporting, litigation, or protecting its rights and property.
- •Your use of third-party apps, AI assistants, plug-ins, APIs, or connected tools is subject to those third parties’ terms and privacy policies.
- •If you choose social sign-in or connected tools, those third parties may combine your information with other data they hold.
- •The policy mentions some US residents can opt out of targeted advertising sharing, which may reduce personalization and travel recommendations.
