Millennials in Travel & Leisure
Millennials as Travelers
Little Known Fact — Within the next 12 months, Millennials are forecast to spend more per household then either Gen X or Baby Boomers.
- Millennials are into travel in a big way: 71% have a passport, 43% have already traveled internationally, and 34% indicate they will be taking more vacations in the coming year.
- Nearly 75% of US Millennial travels have used their cell phone or tablet to search for and plan an upcoming trip (resulting in an increase on phone conversion rates by 88% on travel sites in the past year).
- For accommodations, Millennials are looking for free, dependable and fast Wi-Fi, convenience amenities like self-check-in, late check-out and 24-hour free workout facilities, as well as lobby’s with a sense of community gathering spaces like coffee-houses.
Not only are they destined to be the largest generation to date with the most buying power, but by 2020 Millennials will make up half our country’s workforce. And 75% of the workforce by 2025. So, as both employers and marketers, we all need to figure this out.
Who are they?
Born between 1980 and 2000, and 80 million plus in size, this powerful generationis doing things quite differently than any generation that came before them. And we at BVK wanted to learn what makes them tick.
That is why we have dedicated our own resources to gain a deeper understanding of this cohort — who they are and how they make buying decisions in general. And because they are an increasing large segment of the American workforce, we did a deep dive into what today’s employers need from Millennials versus what Millennials are expecting from employers. As you might imagine, there is a bit of a gap that lies between the two.
Understanding this target of prospective consumers and prospective employees is critical in today’s landscape so that we are smarter and more successful in the recruitment and retention of both.
Our Research
Our foray into the Millennial mindset began with reams of secondary research that existed to first understand how they think overall, and second, their general decision-making process. Then we conducted proprietary research into how they make specific buying decisions in four distinct industries, including travel & leisure.
We studied how our Gen Y friends make decisions about what destinations are worthy of a visit as well as how they go about making the reservations for their trip.
To get a copy of our “Rise of the Millennials” travel & leisure manual, please click here.
