Expedia Group, one of the world’s leading travel booking and technology companies, approached Material with a desire to develop inclusion and diversity strategies to ensure its brands were serving the needs of travelers of all backgrounds, communities and abilities.

To fuel our recommendations, we first needed to deeply understand the perspectives, identities and experiences of underrepresented customer segments, dig deep into their expectations of brands in the travel industry and identify key pain points to address. Our goal was to leverage qualitative and quantitative research methods to identify how Expedia Group could best serve different segments and then design a thoughtful, cohesive inclusion strategy that would resonate authentically.

Informed by deep dives into consumer identity, perspectives and pain points, we identified – and provided recommendations for – four key areas where travel brands can improve to better engage with and serve diverse audiences: messaging, partnerships, employee training and personalized tools and offerings.

Our research revealed that each segment faces different challenges and forms of discrimination based on identity and appearance, all of which can impact their travel experiences and preferences. Only half of travelers from underrepresented groups view hospitality brands as actively inclusive, meaning that Expedia Group had a strong opportunity to adopt a leadership role in this space. Material’s work provided diverse findings and crucial, actionable insights to inform Expedia Group’s ongoing efforts to champion diversity, equity and inclusion.