The Travel Stocks Congress Loves to Trade

Key Points

• Over three dozen members of Congress and their spouses have made nearly 600 travel industry-related stock trades worth millions since 2021.
• Top traded travel stocks include Booking Holdings, Marriott International, Airbnb, Hilton Worldwide, Uber, and Boeing, with many lawmakers citing third-party management or blind trusts for their investments.
• Numerous lawmakers have violated disclosure requirements under the STOCK Act, prompting renewed calls for stricter bans or regulations on congressional stock trading.

Summary

A Skift analysis reveals that more than three dozen U.S. lawmakers and their spouses have made nearly 600 stock trades in travel industry companies since 2021, including airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and travel tech firms. The most frequently traded stocks include Booking Holdings, Marriott, Airbnb, Hilton, Uber, and Boeing. While members are legally permitted to trade stocks if they follow disclosure rules under the STOCK Act, many have violated these requirements, fueling bipartisan efforts to ban or further restrict individual stock trading by members of Congress. Lawmakers often cite the use of third-party managers or blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest, but the practice continues to raise ethical concerns.