MILLENNIALS: NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE · Millenials are taking almost as many staycations as vacations. 43% of Millennial families plan on taking a vacation within the next 12 months

MILLENNIALS: NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY AREFAMILY TRAVEL & STAYCATIONS DOMINATE FOR THE MILLENNIAL MARKET

WE INSPIREPEOPLETO GOPLACES.

INTRODUCTION

It is true; Millennials love to travel. In fact, according to our latest data, Millennials are planning to take more vacations in 2015 than any other group.* Not only that, they are planning the biggest increase in vacation spend as well.* Yet while we all like to think of the Millennial traveler as a khaki-shorted, iPhone-toting seeker of “authentic” travel experiences in places like Asia, Africa and Europe, the truth is many of the Millennials planning travel in the next year are planning for domestic trips with their family in tow. That’s right – they are bringing their children. And these Millennial families will spend more on travel than any other single segment of American travelers this year.*

Possibly related to this family-travel trend is the substantial uptick we have seen in cruising among this audience. In fact, they intend to cruise at the same level as Matures*, which is contrary to our instinct about what it means to be a “Millennial on the move.”

Additionally, Millennials are planning to take nearly as many “staycations” as they are vacations.* These are trips taken within a 75-mile radius that require overnight lodging. This is important to travel marketers because Millennials, more so than other generations, will choose to stay in paid accommodations during these short, often last-minute trips.*

NOT THE TRAVELERS YOU THINK THEY ARE

STAYCATIONING ON THE RISE FOR MILLENNIALS

Couples Families

FAMILIES DRIVE MILLENNIAL TRAVEL

MILLENNIALS: NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE

While we all like to think of the millennial traveler as a khaki-shorted, SLR camera-toting

seeker of “authentic” travel experiences in places like Asia, Africa and Europe, the MMGY Global

2015 Portrait of American Travelers® proves that Millennials aren’t exactly who we think they are.

27%of Millennial couples plan on taking a vacation within the next 12 months.

VS

$3,534 $6,113The amount of money couples intend to spend on vacation in the next 12 months.

The amount of money families intend to spend on vacation in the next 12 months.

2014 20152013

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%41

%55

42%

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3.4vacations

of Millennials staycationing said they had stayed in a hotel as opposed to at home or with friends and family.

Millenials are taking almost as many staycations as vacations.

43%of Millennial families plan on taking a vacation within the next 12 months.

41%intend to use traditional travel agents.


LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW MMGY'S RESEARCH CAN LEAD YOU TO STRONGER INDUSTRY INSIGHT AT

MMGYGLOBAL.COM/RESEARCH.

S O U R C E MMGY Global 2015 Portrait of American Travelers®�


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Much has been asserted about the so-called Millennial generation – from their propensity toward self-expression and (over) sharing to their grand entrance into the workforce with an ambition and entitlement unmatched by their predecessors.

With people in this age group now outnumbering what was the biggest generation in American history (there are now 84 million Millennials, compared to 78 million Boomers), it is reasonable that we, as marketers, seek to understand them.

As marketers, we yearn to classify entire groups of people with hugely diverse backgrounds by naming them and applying known characteristics of individuals to the whole lot – especially when specific groups present opportunity. The Millennial generation holds incredible purchasing power and represents future growth potential for many of the world’s largest brands. This is especially true for the travel industry, as Millennials plan to take more vacations this year than any other generational cohort.*

Before you create that brand-new Millennial marketing brief, however, you may want to look at some of the surprising findings from our newest report, the MMGY Global 2015 Portrait of American Travelers®. While some findings confirm what we already know, other data offers insights contrary to what we consider to be true about this unstoppable generation.

“With people in this age group now

outnumbering what was the biggest

generation in American history (there are

now 84 million Millennials, compared to 78

million Boomers), it is reasonable that we,

as marketers, seek to understand them.”

Couples

Families

Newcomers into the travel space add complexity to this ever-evolving industry. The sharing economy continues to shift the travel marketplace, and Millennials lead the way in contributing to the growth of companies like HomeAway, Airbnb and Uber.* These businesses will continue to give established travel brands a run for their money, fueled by the Millennial desire for value and unscripted travel experiences.

At the same time, established brands must also recognize that this new crop of socially connected consumers (Millennials are far more likely than any other age group to have accounts on not only Facebook but also Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter as well*) is both learning and sharing about brands online. Gone are the days when a marketing team defines a brand and shares it with the world – now, consumers are actively contributing to brand stories through the shared economy of social media.

LIVING IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD

“American leisure travelers are

less inclined to rely upon OTA

sites during their travel planning

process and more so to simply book

direct on travel supplier sites.”

It will come as no surprise that Millennials are still consulting more resources during every stage of the travel-planning process than their Gen X, Boomer and Mature counterparts.* It makes perfect sense that a generation known for coining the phrase FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) will obsessively shop for the best travel value available to them for the destinations they want to visit. And there is more information out there for them to obsess about than ever before.

In fact, the overwhelming number of travel resources available has given rise to another trend for this age group: increased use of travel professionals.* Long dismissed as becoming quickly obsolete, brick-and-mortar travel agents have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years – a trend no doubt influenced by the fact that some consumers have become paralyzed with too many options. Many consumers are seeking something from the travel planning process that they also seek on vacation – simplicity and the ability to rest easy, knowing they are getting the best value for their money when it comes to their precious vacation days.

Speaking of vacation days, you can’t get them unless you are employed. As the generation that hit the workforce at the very time the great recession was taking a bite out of the U.S. economy, gainful employment has not always been something this cohort could take for granted. As the ship has been righted and the economy continues to improve, more Millennials are finding success in the job market. As such, millions of Millennials now count themselves among the dual citizenship of leisure and business travelers.

We all know that business travel is the engine that drives loyalty behavior for top hotel and air brands. Our recent whitepaper on the shift toward booking on brand.com sites versus OTAs (download available at http://www.mmgyglobal.com/white-paper-download/should-otas-be-worried/) sheds light on this trend among all age cohorts. Among the top reasons for booking with brands directly is the ability to collect loyalty points.* Not only is this the key to capturing present-day revenue, but it’s also the holy grail of lifetime value – and for Millennials who arguably have many years of success ahead, earning their loyalty now is of paramount importance to brands who wish to remain relevant in the years ahead.

GETTING OLDER, GROWING UP


Couples Families







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2014 20152013

%32

%41

%55

42%

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3.4vacations









Couples Families

So, the world has changed. That much is clear. When things change, it is often the goal of those in the advertising business to find a new order to the chaos, a new system of classifications or set of business rules on which to base our tightly orchestrated marketing efforts. I would caution against using general stereotypes to categorize this group of starkly diverse individuals, however. Millennials are a group as varied in characteristics as they are numerous. They are parents, they are children, they are professionals. As such, we need to find ways to speak to them on their terms and with messages relevant to who they are now.

*According to MMGY Global’s 2015 Portrait of American Travelers® research and insights. For more information, please visit www.mmgyglobal.com/research.

CONCLUSION

Claire Bishop is an experienced cross-channel media planning professional with deep expertise in the travel and hospitality industry. She is responsible for leading the innovation and excellence of MMGY’s paid media channel through applied strategies including traditional and digital broadcast, display, social, mobile, search and email marketing. Her work has contributed to award-winning and successful campaigns for clients such as Barbados Tourism, Trump Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels and One&Only Resorts. Connect with Claire on Twitter: @eClaireBishop.

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MILLENNIALS: NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE · Millenials are taking almost as many staycations as vacations. 43% of Millennial families plan on taking a vacation within the next 12 months