Millennials Will Splurge on Vacations, Activities but Not on Hotels
A new report by FutureCast, a millennial marketing consultancy and partner company of Barkley advertising agency, focuses on key millennial insights and trends that are driving dramatic changes in the travel and lodging industries. The Millennial Brief on Travel and Lodging identifies the most important overarching characteristics of millennial travelers, best-in-class examples of current lodging brand strategy, and what potential impact the popularity of disruptor brands might have on the future of the industry, supported by an exclusive Q&A with Vicki Poulos, global brand director of Moxy Hotels by Marriott.
“Many are aware that Millennials are avid travelers, but few understand just how highly they prioritize it,” said Jeff Fromm, president of FutureCast and co-author of Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever (July 2013) and Millennials with Kids (August 2015). “Millennials view travel as vital to their overall personal growth and development and rank it as more important than even strengthening relationships with friends and family. This points to a significant area of opportunity for lodging brands, which can be guided by the insights we have identified.”
Highlights from The Millennial Brief on Travel and Lodging include:
“Many are aware that Millennials are avid travelers, but few understand just how highly they prioritize it,” said Jeff Fromm, president of FutureCast and co-author of Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever (July 2013) and Millennials with Kids (August 2015). “Millennials view travel as vital to their overall personal growth and development and rank it as more important than even strengthening relationships with friends and family. This points to a significant area of opportunity for lodging brands, which can be guided by the insights we have identified.”
Highlights from The Millennial Brief on Travel and Lodging include:
- Millennials are not interested in packaged travel. This generation desires to be a part of immersive and interactive opportunities, with 90% wanting to experience new things while on vacation and 70% wanting to learn and explore from the communities they visit.
- Millennials indicate a greater willingness to splurge on vacations and activities. However, they do not for hotels or accommodations. This generation will seek out an average of 10 sources prior to making travel purchases to ensure the best bargain.
- Millennials travel outside of the traditional peak tourism seasons. This group has no problem mixing work and play by extending business travel into personal vacations. In fact, 62% of millennials extended their business trips into personal vacations, and weekend trips alone make up almost half of all millennial vacations.
- Millennials desire and expect digital and social integration from brands in the space. From travel apps, to online travel agents, to using tech throughout lodging stays, millennials utilize technology to ensure a "frictionless journey," with 50% claiming to want full integration of tech throughout the hotels they stay in.
“Millennials are completely changing the game for even the most established of organizations in the lodging space, from the way they research, to the way they book, to the way they interact during a stay,” Fromm said. “This will undoubtedly continue as their prevalence and influence in the space continues to grow, making it extremely vital for brands to understand these Millennial behaviors and attributes if they hope to realize their biggest possible futures.”
To read the study in full, please visit: http://www.millennialmarketing.com/research-paper/the-millennial-brief-on-travel-and-lodging/