At Expedia Group’s Seattle headquarters before moving to new premises in 2019. (GeekWire photo / Kurt Schlosser)
This seems to be a trend: Expedia Group, the Seattle-based online travel giant, has told employees that it will postpone the full return to the office until early next year.
Expedia’s decision follows a similar announcement from Amazon last week. Microsoft, Google, Apple, and others have also postponed their return to the office, but in a shorter timeframe for now. October is currently the more common destination for many in the industry.
“Due to the evolving circumstances surrounding COVID-19, we are now aiming to largely return to the office on a hybrid basis in January 2022, subject to instructions from local governments and health authorities,” Expedia said in a statement. “The well-being of our employees is our priority and we look forward to reuniting our global employee community when it is safe to do so.”
Meanwhile, the company says its offices are open to those who can walk in, “while maintaining flexibility and reasonable security standards.”
At this point, the company says employees and visitors who come to its U.S. offices must be vaccinated. “We have employees in 55 countries, we will continue to evaluate the situation outside of the US and consider a similar approach as local laws allow this and vaccines become more available,” an Expedia spokesperson said.
In addition to the flagship Expedia.com, the Expedia Group includes travel brands such as vrbo, Orbitz, Hotwire, Trivago, Hotels.com and Egencia.
The company moved from its long-standing home in downtown Bellevue, Washington, to a spacious headquarters in downtown Seattle in 2019.