15 Apr Travel Technology Industry Supports the People of Ukraine
The Travel Technology Association applauds the work our members are doing to support the safety of the people in and around Ukraine through relief and recovery efforts. Millions have fled Ukraine and many more could be displaced as the conflict continues. Travel Tech’s members are committed to leveraging their platforms and resources to help in a variety of ways. The global travel community is a powerful force for good.
“As this crisis unfolded, many wondered how they could help. The world’s leading travel companies took immediate steps to support people and businesses in Ukraine. Whether it was providing shelter for people internally displaced, offering support in welcoming refugees or providing people a safe and trusted platform to donate funds, Travel Tech’s members are finding creative ways to support humanitarian efforts. In this age of digital and social media, our members are inspiring action from businesses and travelers around the globe to donate to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.”-Steve Shur, President of The Travel Technology Association
SUPPORTING THE SAFETY OF THOSE IN THE REGION:
As an active war zone, everyone in Ukraine is in some kind of need. Travel Tech’s members understand the importance of acting with purpose during a full-fledged humanitarian crisis. These travel industry leaders are committed to supporting Ukraine by making charitable contributions directly as a company and providing their employees and customers ways to get involved as well.
Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, building off of longstanding efforts in support of displaced people, mobilized the traveler community to support World Central Kitchen’s food relief work for Ukrainian refugees. The effort has raised over $6.4 million as of March 2022 in support of World Central Kitchen’s Ukraine response, including $1 million in matching funds from the Tripadvisor Foundation. Click here to learn more about the effort or to make a donation to World Central Kitchen. Tripadvisor also prioritized traveler safety by leveraging its Trust and Safety function to provide threads within forums for those in the affected region to find and share real-time safe travel information (in English, Russian and other languages). Tripadvisor and Viator are also utilizing “safety notification” capabilities to post warnings about travel to Ukraine. Read Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer’s Open Letter to the traveler community to learn more about Tripadvisor’s relief and travel safety initiatives in Ukraine
Airbnb
Airbnb.org will offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. These stays will be funded by Airbnb, Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and the generosity of Hosts through Airbnb.org. Anyone interested in opening their homes can get more information here on how to support this effort.
American Express GBT
GBT has made it possible for GBT colleagues to donate to the Ukraine DEC Humanitarian appeal. Some 15 charities, including The Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children, have set up the appeal to help the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and those taking refuge in the country. GBT will match donations up to a total of $250,000 to both UNICEF USA and the Ukraine DEC humanitarian appeal.
GBT is also offering its colleagues, no matter where they are based, two days paid leave to support volunteer efforts.
Expedia
Expedia worked quickly to support any impacted employees and vendors in the region and continues to have ongoing support for those directly impacted. For Expedia employees who wish to support causes related to Ukraine, Expedia has increased corporate donation matching to 5x. Vrbo has also waived the traveler service fee for bookings of properties in Ukraine.
Booking.com
Booking.com continues to do all it can for the safety of its colleagues, customers, and partners and has worked diligently to build new tools and resources to offer additional support for refugees. Booking.com’s technology is helping partners offer free and heavily discounted accommodations in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Czechia, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Booking Holdings recently donated $1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist with their aid efforts. It is also matching every employee donation across Booking Holdings and brands.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is working to support those affected, including its own team members and their families, as well as those displaced by the conflict via humanitarian aid donations, matching employee contributions, and fast-tracking role applications.
CWT
CWT created a Ukraine crisis response team, including employees from within Ukraine, even before the Russian invasion. CWT worked with Ukrainian employees, offering relocation services, and providing an initial deposit of funds to combat the sudden financial hardship. Additionally, alternative secure communications with all team members in Ukraine were proactively established in anticipation of disruptions to normal channels. An internal blog was created to keep all employees informed, through which European colleagues could convey offers of shelter for Ukraine colleagues, and for CWT’s employees around the world to express support and encouragement.
In response to employee requests to be able to securely offer financial assistance to their colleagues in Ukraine, CWT created a GoFundMe fundraising page with a matched funding goal of up to $50,000 (which was surpassed in less than 4 days).
