U.S. Lobbying Roundup: Which Travel Companies Spent the Most
Photo Credit: Side view of the U.S. Capitol Building, home of Congress, and located atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Adobe Stock / sherryvsmith
Skift Take
With Donald Trump back in the White House and a new GOP-controlled Congress, the travel industry has no choice but to keep spending.
Many prominent travel and tourism industry interests increased their spending on federal-level lobbying during early 2025, coinciding with Donald Trump’s return to the White House and a new Congress controlled by Republicans.
A Skift analysis of new federal lobbying disclosure documents posted Tuesday shows that most of the nation’s biggest airlines, hotels, travel service companies and associated trade associations maintained six- or seven-figure lobbying expenditures during the first quarter of 2025.
This government influence spending, which includes money spent on both in-house and for-hire lobbyists in Washington, D.C., comes at a time of turbulence for the travel and tourism industry, which is experiencing or anticipating significant changes to federal aviation, immigration, visa, labor, tariff, and taxation policies.
Among the notable revelations from the new lobbying records:
Where Spending Rose
Hotels and Lodging: Marriott, Hilton, Airbnb, and MGM Resorts all registered lobbying spending increases during the first quarter versus the first quarter of 2024, as well as the first quarters of 2021 (President Joe Biden’s first months in the White House) and 2017 (Trump’s first months of his first term).
Marriott’s $640,000 first quarter lobbying expenditure is well above what it spent during the same quarters in 2024 ($540,000), 2021 ($290,000) and 2017 ($260,000.)
Similarly, Hilton spent $420,000, during the first quarter of 2025 compared to $380,000 in 2024, $190,000 in 2021 and $260,000 in 2017.
Airbnb spent $270,000 — more than twice what it spent during the first quarter of 2021. Airbnb said the reason for the increase was because it added an additional lobbyist to its federal affairs team.
And MGM Resorts’ spending jumped to $370,000 from $230,000 during the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, the American Hotel and Lodging Association spent $670,000 during the first quarter of 2025 versus $570,000 in 2024, $586,000 in 2021 and $560,000 in 2017.
Trade Groups: The U.S. Travel Association, meanwhile, cracked the million-dollar mark — $1.01 million — for its first quarter 2025 federal lobbying effort. This compares to $910,000 it spent during the same time period in 2024, $840,000 in 2021 and $650,000 in 2017.
U.S. Travel Association spokesperson Allison O’Connor noted that it’s “typical” for lobbying expenditures to increase slightly with a new president and Congress, but that Trump’s “agenda has not impacted our lobby expenditure.”
She added that her organization’s lobbying expenditures during Biden’s first months in office “were significantly reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the financial challenges facing the entire industry.”
The American Hotel & Lodging Association likewise increased its spending during the first quarter of 2025 ($670,000), up from comparable periods in 2024 ($570,000), 2021 ($586,000) and 2017 ($560,000).
“As the leading advocacy organization for the hotel industry, representing a critical sector of the U.S. economy, and millions of American workers, AHLA develops outreach strategies at the beginning of each new congressional term and presidential administration,” the association said in a statement to Skift. “We are actively highlighting our members' priorities and building productive working relationships with newly elected and appointed officials to ensure our industry is heard in Washington, D.C.”
Online Travel: Booking Holdings, which operates travel websites such as Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda, Kayak and Cheapflights, nearly doubled its first quarter lobbying expenditures — from $260,000 in 2024 to $425,000, according to federal records.
Airlines: Delta Air Lines led all others in lobbying increases, spending $1.67 million during the 1st quarter of 2025 compared to $1.44 million during the 1st quarter of 2024, $1.05 million in 2021 and $676,539 in 2017.
American Airlines ($1.25 million in 2025) and Alaska Airlines ($500,000 in 2025) also recorded year-over-year increases.
Status Quo
The cruise industry was largely flat in its lobbying spending, with the Cruise Lines International Association ($475,000), Carnival North America ($210,000) and Viking Cruises ($50,000) reporting no change in spending.
Others including the American Resort Development Association ($270,000) and TripAdvisor ($90,000) were also unchanged, year-over-year.
Spending Dip
A few big-name travel and tourism interests did report slight decreases in the quarter.
United Airlines dipped to $1.01 million in 2025 from $1.04 million in 2024. Both figures are well above what United Airlines spent on lobbying during the 1st quarters of 2021 ($780,000) and 2017 ($870,000).
Lobbying spending for Airlines for America ($1.36 million in 1st quarter 2025), JetBlue Airways ($750,000), Expedia ($160,000), Royal Caribbean Group ($90,000) are also down slightly from the same time period in 2024.
Airplane manufacturer Boeing spent $2.62 million on lobbying in 2025 — down from its totals in 2024, 2021 or 2017. But competitor Airbus Group ticked up, Spending $790,000 during the 1st quarter of 2025, compared to $710,000 in 2024, $430,000 in 2021 and $680,000 in 2017.
Key Issues
Matters related to economics, labor, and tariffs rank among the common causes in early 2025.
The U.S. Travel Association, for example, lobbied on proposals to reduce visa interview wait times for “large international events hosted in the U.S.” and proposals to “expand and modernize the H-2B visa program,” which pertains to hiring foreign workers to temporarily fill nonagricultural jobs.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association disclosed lobbying against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, for the Stronger Workforce for America Act and in support of the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025, among dozens of other matters.
United Airlines disclosed lobbying on numerous issues, ranging from air traffic controller levels to aviation fees and taxes.
United CEO Scott Kirby has been outspoken about increasing air traffic controller staffing, improving air traffic control technology and rebuilding air facilities.
“Addressing the critical shortage of air traffic controllers is the most impactful action the government can take to improve safety, reliability and efficiency for air travelers,” he said last month.
Dave Levinthal is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist.
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