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We probably knew it all along. According to a new study by Preferred Hotel Group, kids are the big drivers of decisions on multigenerational trips, which is still one of the fastest and sustained growing segments in the travel business.
Kids may shape the decisions on where to go, but grandparents are the ones who pay for those trips. And the big winners booking multigenerational groups turn out to be travel agents, not travel websites.
Forty percent of both grandparents and parents say their kids "actively participate in or influence" vacation planning, specifically with respect to daily activities (77 percent) and deciding which destinations to visit (62 percent). Almost half (49 percent) of all multigenerational travelers say their grandchildren influence the selection of the hotel or resort.
Meanwhile, grandparents, even more so than parents (35 percent vs. 25 percent), pay for multigenerational trips to help family members enjoy a vacation they otherwise could not afford.
Multigenerational travelers also tend to use the services of traditional travel agents much more than other leisure travelers do. Over the past year, 38 percent used the services of a traditional travel agent to plan a multigenerational vacation, while 41 percent say they intend to do so over the next two years. Those results are twice as high as the incidence of traditional travel agent usage observed among all other leisure travelers.
"This is multigenerational travel 2.0. And these days children are calling the shots, grandparents are increasingly funding the cost of the trip, and an overwhelming percentage of millennials - 91 percent of those surveyed - say a multigenerational trip is something they try to take every year," said Lindsey Ueberroth, president of Preferred Hotels Group, who unveiled the results of the survey at the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) in Cannes on Dec. 2.
Preferred Hotel Group's study, its second of the multigenerational market in the past two years, confirmed a continued desire to spend more time with family on vacation. That trend first emerged as a primary motivation for leisure travel following the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
The study found the same motivation is now amplified by the fast pace of contemporary life and a sense of guilt that many parents feel about not having enough time to spend with their children. Travelers who have taken a multigenerational trip previously also are "likely" or "very likely" to plan another domestic (86 percent) or international (48 percent) multigenerational vacation over the next two years.
Among other key findings of the survey: Classic family and multigenerational destinations are still hot with Orlando (25 percent) and U.S. national parks (17 percent) topping the list of domestic destinations that multigenerational travelers would like to visit during the next two years. The Caribbean (29 percent) and Western Europe (28 percent) top the list of international "dream" destinations. Within Europe, the top destinations desired by multigenerational travelers are Italy (17 percent), England (16 percent) and France (16 percent).
On the social media front, the survey found that Facebook is the most popular social site for multigenerational travelers, with 73 percent saying they have a page posted on this site. Posts on social media exert more influence than ever on this segment's decision-making, with 40 percent saying they have selected a destination based at least partially on the information, photos, or videos they viewed on social media websites and 25 percent agreeing they have selected a travel service supplier based on exposure to the same content.
Multigenerational vacations also now represent half of all vacations taken by both grandparents and parents. While these vacations included grandparents, parents, and their children on 44 percent of such trips, the makeup of the multigenerational travel has expanded beyond immediate family to include siblings (31 percent), nephews and nieces (20 percent), and non-relative friends (20 percent) on one or more of the multigenerational vacations taken by the other 56 percent.
Among travelers who took a multigenerational vacation last year, 77 percent said that taking such a vacation is something they try to do every year, something that is particularly true for millennials (91 percent) and Gen Xers (80 percent).
Multigenerational travelers also display great loyalty to the destinations they visit, with 35 percent say they intend to visit the same destination on their next multigen trip. Beach vacations (35 percent) and theme park vacations (28 percent) are the most popular types of multigenerational vacations.
As the number of grandparents continues to increase, multigenerational travel will also continue to grow in size and influence. According to the U.S. Census, there will be 80 million grandparents by 2020, accounting for nearly one-in-three adults. These grandparents are widely expected to work longer, have higher incomes, and spend more on discretionary products and services than their predecessors.
Specifically, the number of American travelers who have reached the life stage of "grandparent" (25 percent) has also risen to the highest level recorded in travel marketing research. Within this demographic group, 35 percent took at least one vacation with their grandchildren during the previous year (41 percent for affluent grandparents living in households with an annual income over $250,000).
Preferred Hotel Group is addressing the growth in multigenerational travel by focusing some specific programs on the segment. For example, it has launched Preferred Family Certified, a program to showcase hotel members in the group that cater to multigen and family travelers. These members must be certified as multigen specialists. There's also a dedicated website featuring travel guides, family blogs and special offers. Preferred has 283 hotels and resorts that are Preferred Family certified.
In addition, Preferred is growing its portfolio of Preferred Residences, which offer larger accommodations like villas and multi-bedroom suites that are more suitable for multigenerational groups.
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