Infographic courtesy of SACO
If you work in the travel industry, chances are you're aware that it's a pretty good idea to cater to millennials.
But what exactly is a millennial?
Well, a millennial is generally defined as someone who is currently 18 to 34 years of age (born after 1980).
SACO, a serviced apartment company, recently produced an infographic detailing the intricacies of the millennial traveler (note: this is a general characterization; not every millennial is exactly like this).
First of all, it's important to know that millennials generally love technology and social media. As the infographic notes, they can regularly be found on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Also, mobile-friendly websites and decent Wi-Fi (preferably free) are not just preferred-they are expected.
On top of that, nearly half (46 percent) of millennials are "excited about better access to technology in rooms and the BYOD (bring your own device) concept," according to SACO. That includes being more excited than their older counterparts about new room technologies, apps and mobile platforms, and wider ranges of ways to book online.
While SACO found that all travelers prefer a comfortable bed over great food and a high-speed broadband connection, only millennials aged 18 to 24 preferred a high-speed broadband connection (57 percent) over great food.
When it comes to business travel, you may be surprised to know that 50 percent of millennials are more likely to have traveled for business in the past two years than those over 35 years of age.
On the other hand, if hoteliers are hoping to win millennials over with hotel rewards programs, that may be ill-advised. According to SACO, just 9 percent of millennial travelers say they are influenced by a rewards program when booking, considerably lower than older travelers. On top of that, only 5 percent profess loyalty to a single brand.
Of course, if you can gain millennial loyalty, you will probably reap the rewards. Only one-third of millennial business travelers worry about whether the accommodation they book is within their company's budget.
Also, given millennials are social creatures, they tend to look for accommodation with shared spaces that provide for socializing and networking. About 14 percent see traveling as an important networking opportunity, as opposed to 7 percent of their older peers.
In a nutshell, according to SACO, millennials are community-driven, interested in sharing, interconnected, spontaneous, fickle (hence, their prioritization of certain services and amenities) and eco-conscious, while also valuing diversity and having high expectations.
There you go, travel industry, a whole infographic full of stats about millennials.
Now there's no excuse to not understand them.
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