HOW MILLENNIALS ARE RESHAPING THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

If you wonder why we value so much millennials, it’s because they are the highest fastest group of consumers in the travel market. Millennials are quite a unique generation. They are known for being adventurous, tech-savvy and travel lovers.

In order to turn them into customers, hotels should work on some specific hotel marketing details. The good news is that this generation considers travelling as a priority, unlike the previous generation that had other priorities such as buying a house, buying a car…

Now, in this article, you’ll find out the most important features of this particular generation and how hotels should adapt their marketing strategy to this targets’ needs.

Who are the Millennials?

Millennials are the generation born between 1980 to 2000. They are all grown up now and are college students, employees or even startup founders. This means they represent a significant potential market, hotels should not neglect.

Millennials & OTAs: A love story:

Millennials love OTAs, that’s a fact. They rely a lot on different OTAs platforms to plan a trip starting from hotel stays to airline tickets. OTAs succeeded to build a trust relationship with millennials. A lot of families tend to let their kids plan the trip because they believe their kids manage to find the best offer with the lowest price. This is just another aspect of how millennials are reshaping the hospitality industry.

What should a hotel do?

Hotels should upgrade their digital game. The main reason OTAs overpass hotels is their

technical expertise.

They are constantly improving their website performance to be more up to date with technology’s latest trends. Another thing OTAs are good at is the mobile version. Their websites are mobile friendly while some hotels still struggle with their website performance on mobile devices.

Millennials & Social Media:

“If I don’t post it, It didn’t really happen” This is the policy millennials work by. Millennials love to share their lives on social media with their friends. This particular feature can be a significant advantage for hotels if they know how to use it. Having a millennial as a guest in your hotel is like having a free reporter working for you. Millennials take pictures of everything (food, hotel design, swimming pool…) This generation was born with technology skills at their fingertips.

What should a hotel do?

Hotels should try to play by the same rules. For example, hotels can offer a discount if a millennial guest posts a picture on social media with the hotel hashtag in the caption. Not necessarily a discount, it can be some sort of benefit like a free cocktail, bottom line is, be creative as much as possible.

Hotels can also choose a creative hotel design that would look good on pictures. You don’t have to necessarily change your whole design, you can pick a wall or a corner in your hotel, and redesign it so it can be more “instagrammable”.

Millennials & mobile devices: The “need for speed” generation

Millennials are obsessed with their smartphones, that’s not a secret. Many of them would switch from a hotel website if it’s not mobile friendly. They can plan their whole trip from their mobile phone. They start by checking room pictures that should be clear and real. They also care a lot about reviews, the more you satisfy your guests, the more you’ll get new ones. That’s the rule in the hospitality industry now.

What should a hotel do?

Hotels should provide their guests with high-speed wifi. It might seem like a detail for you, but for millennials, it’s “the main criteria”.

As mentioned above, working on your mobile version is a must now.

Another trend is taking the lead lately, which is to check in or check out through mobile phones. Millennials are not really fan of the front desk traditional service.



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