Meeting the Expectations of Gen Z and Millennial Travelers: A Digital-First Approach
Whether they’re mini-biking across the Mongolian steppe, exploring a Moroccan oasis or catching a run of Premier League football matches in Europe, Gen Zers (or Zoomers) and Millennials have a well-documented wanderlust. They purchased travel more frequently than any other generation in the last 12 months, according to the travel app Hopper. What’s more, they were expected to account for 60% of hotel bookings in 2024, according to the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals trade group.
Millennials and Zoomers are, in short, the present and future of travel. For travel and hospitality companies to tap the vast market potential, these two globetrotting generations represent, they’ll need to understand and find ways to satisfy their uniquely discriminating travel appetites. For example, a 2024 survey by Vox Media and Thrillist found that 84% of Zoomers and Millennials prefer destinations off the beaten path. And when it comes to booking, they expect a simple, intuitive, seamless and mobile-first digital journey across channels.
For hospitality and travel companies, digital capabilities and data intelligence are critical to fulfilling these expectations. Here’s a look at four of the strongest travel preferences and priorities shared by younger travelers, and the intelligent digital capabilities and connected, networked approaches that will help travel companies cater to them.
1. Imaginative, personalized and uniquely Instagram-able experiences. Millennials and Zoomers prefer travel experiences that are unique — and uniquely personalized. According to McKinsey, Zoomers value personalized service in travel 2.5 times more than Baby Boomers. “Hotel operators can find opportunities to treat every traveler like a one-percenter—even those without the budget to match.”
To that end, intelligent technologies can help hospitality and travel companies really understand the types of experiences younger travelers are seeking. For example, AI can analyze huge volumes of social media posts and data to essentially follow the hashtags and identify the kinds of places and experiences they’re buzzing about. Customer data can also help providers develop highly personalized traveler profiles that translate into custom-tailored amenities that elevate experiences for guests: the temperature at which they prefer their room; the type of mattress they prefer, or what type of wine or water they want in the mini-fridge. And let’s not overlook WiFi connectivity in all this. Younger travelers expect to be able to connect and post, however far-flung their location may be. It’s a must that connectivity be part of every experience you offer.
But the preference for personalization runs deeper than that. As Thrillist found in its survey, younger travelers are “seeking out experiences that speak to their personal backgrounds or heritage, or ones that help to strengthen their bonds with cultures and communities around the world.”
Providing these types of experiences requires travel and hospitality to develop relationships and business networks at the community level with providers that can bring true localization and community connection. This requires a level of digital connectivity and data-sharing with local providers, so that travel offerings can be synched, streamlined and curated behind-the-scenes to provide a seamless traveler experience.
When this level of data and system synchronization stretches across the value chain, to airline systems, booking and sales applications, financial processes and the supply chain, entering new markets and shaping new experiences becomes a more straightforward proposition.
2. A seamless digital customer journey. As digital natives, younger travelers expect easy, rich and mobile-forward experiences from booking and check-in, throughout their stay and the checkout process. Here again, it’s about understanding their preferences and priorities. Millennials and Gen Zoomers show a clear inclination toward direct booking, direct online channels for flight bookings and a higher reliance on online travel agencies, according to Skift. What’s more, 58% of Millennials and Zoomers want a travel agent or trusted advisor to help them book a major trip this year, according to American Express. And in its survey, Hopper found that 55% of Zoomers used smartphones to book their most recent travel experience. Bottom line: the shopping and booking experience better be personalized, smooth and fruitful or Zoomers will take their business elsewhere.
3. Value-driven experiences for cost-conscious younger travelers. Younger travelers are particularly value-driven and cost-sensitive. It’s therefore incumbent on hospitality and travel companies to find ways to satisfy them, not just with lower prices, but with personalized experiences, unique offerings, superior service and elevated guest experiences. To manage costs associated with those experiencs, it’s important that they have visibility into trip data across multiple channels and multiple suppliers, as well as materials/supply chain, facilities, utilities and manpower costs, with the ability to analyze that data to reveal areas where they can add value and reduce costs
4. Sustainability-focused travel. In a recent survey of Zoomers and Millennials,Skift Research identified “a shared interest in prioritizing and seeking out tourism operators adhering to social and environmental standards.”
To cater to these sensibilities, travel and hospitality companies must be able to give customers visibility into the carbon impact associated with the experiences they offer, for example, so travelers can factor that into their decisions. That level of visibility is only possible when a company can collect, calculate and report on a massive amount of sustainability-related data sourced from inside and outside their organization. Intelligent track-and-trace, data collection and analytics capabilities are essential to doing so. Generative AI, for example, can help a company collect, manage and report carbon footprint data from various sources across the value chain. AI also can help companies identify suppliers with more favorable sustainability profiles.
With their strong environmental sensibilities, proclivity to spend on travel and growing spending power, Millennials and Zoomers are consumers with clear, unique preferences that travel and hospitality companies simply can’t afford to ignore.
About the Author
Jerrod Ng is the hospitality lead in the construction, travel & transportation industry business unit at SAP. In this role, he works closely with customers to understand key market trends and needs. Jerrod collaborates with internal teams and industry partners to develop and deliver solutions tailored to the hospitality industry.