As we all know, Millennials are changing the faces of industries across the world, and travel isn’t immune from the millennial influence. In fact, businesses that aren’t utilizing different marketing methods for reaching different generations may be missing the mark when it comes to differentiating between Millennials and other generations. Millennials and Baby Boomers have very different ideas when it comes to priorities in travel spending. Coined as the “experience economy” by Topdeck Travel, a private travel research association, Millennials are willing to spend money on experiences, with a whopping 86% of Millennial travelers looking for authentic values and traditions within their vacation compared to other generations. They want to step out of their comfort zone, explore unique areas and understand the place in which they are staying.
Millennials are looking to combine their business and leisure travel into one experience, allowing them to be productive and make money while immersing themselves into a different culture. If a Millennial is able to extend their work trip a few days in order to experience local attractions while they’re already in the area, you can bet they’ll be extending that trip in no time.
Group and hostel housing accommodations are becoming more and more popular as the sharing economy continues to rise. In fact, according to Top deck Travel, Millennials now make up 70% of all hostel guests. With such low costs, these travelers are willing to spend more money on other things like food and drink and entertainment because they’re not shelling out hundreds of dollars on hotel rooms. Hotel chains around the world are catching onto this trend and plan to offer more and more “hostel-like” chains to their brand, creating a community experience.