Why Expedia is a special place to work

David Barmaz | Supply Analysis Manager, Lodging Partner Services in Geneva

The comfort of a large corporation with the growth pace of a start up

When I joined Expedia Group Geneva Analytics team 2.5 years back, the team was made of 30 people.

Today, we are over 80. The overall company has been growing strongly in general (10-15% per year), but with the growing push for more data, the analytics function has seen growth outpacing the general company.

The direct consequence of this growth is that Expedia Group offers a huge number of opportunities to take on responsibilities and increase one’s scope.

Most company that see such growth are often of a much smaller scale… but being part of a large corporation has a lot of advantage: global reach, large impact, and also loads of nice smaller perks like desks you can raise, free fruits & coffees, big allowance for sport activities, showers on site etc.

The main Geneva office also happen to be on the street perpendicular to the water jet (Jet D’Eau), so you get to check it out every day when coming and leaving the office; there’s nothing quite like a bike ride along the Rhone and Lake Geneva to get to work!

Making Expedia Group the best workplace

One of the most noticeable changes I’ve witnessed over the past 2.5 years is the drive in the Analytics team to make Expedia Group a great place to work.

• New joiner onboarding has been strongly developed and streamlined.
• The number of learning opportunities has increased drastically; Analytics now has a dedicated training committee, along with data science classes & code academy.
• The need for training is also recognized by leadership through a generous training budget to employees.

Our team has probably the most active social committee of the whole enterprise. We have about 5 events each quarter. Last year, some of the activities included an escape room, a baking class, a curling initiation and most recently an ice skating night.

For the first time this year, everyone in the team has a quarterly objective to make life in the office better. We see a lot of beautiful initiatives flourish from this: such as “Lunch and Learn” sessions and language exchange groups.

Volunteering is also dear to many Expedians. Shortly before Christmas 2018, 150 employees gathered to refurbish a block of flats for people in need in Geneva.

You thought London was international? Try Geneva!

Prior to joining Expedia Group in Geneva, I worked in London for 5 years. One of the things I loved the most was how international London was, and losing this diversity was one of my main concerns, moving back to my home country.

But Expedia Group’s Geneva office is a special place. The vast majority of employees here are born elsewhere; being Swiss-born, I’m definitely part of a minority!

When I moved back to my country, I expected people to have the same habits as me. I was in for a shock when I started my work days at 7am and had to wait about 2 hours before most of my colleagues arrived.

However, I do feel very lucky to spend my days mingling with people from all over, who have such a rich variety of experiences. The staggered times at which people arrive at the office reflect not only the cultural diversity of Expedia Group in Geneva, but also the Expedia approach to flexible working and work-life balance.

Now if you’ve read all this, you might be wondering: “how can I be part of this?” We have A LOT of open positions pretty much all the time, so please check out our Career website and feel free to reach out should you have any questions about the Geneva office or the Analytics team.

Looking forward to hearing from you!