Stat: Millennial Travelers Want Connections, Value-Add Perks

Interesting stats this week from Chase Card Services, which recently conducted a survey of more than 1,000 18-67-year-olds who stayed in a hotel at least five nights per year for business, pleasure or both.

The study found that Millennials—generally defined as people born between 1980 and 2000—are more likely than older travelers to seek out hotels with luxury services such as dry cleaning (32 percent), massage or spa services (30 percent) and pet-friendliness (23 percent). Furthermore, the survey shows Millennial travelers are more likely to say it’s a ‘deal breaker’ if a hotel is not near public transportation (19 percent).

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Here are some of the key findings from the survey:

Millennial travelers want to make connections – both in-person and via social networks:

  • Millennial travelers are more likely than other travelers to want to meet other people staying at their hotel (57 percent).
  • Millennial travelers are more likely (44 percent) than older travelers ages 35-49 (28 percent) and ages 50-67 (11 percent) to seek opinions via social media while researching a prospective vacation.
  • Despite having a desire to unplug when staying at a hotel, nearly all Millennial travelers post on social networks and share experiences with friends while traveling (97 percent).
  • Three in four Millennial travelers post to social networks at least once a day while traveling (73 percent).

Millennials look for hotels with conveniences and luxury services:

  • Millennial travelers (48 percent) are more likely to say that indulging in luxury services best describes their attitude toward staying in hotels. In contrast, older travelers ages 50-67 are more likely to say that keeping within a budget (72 percent) best describes their hotel preferences.
  • Millennial travelers (19 percent) are more likely to say it’s a deal breaker if a hotel is not near public transportation. Older travelers ages 50-67 prioritize a hotel's location to landmarks or an airport (42 percent).

When it comes to travel rewards, Millennials prefer status:

Millennials are twice as likely (18 percent) than older travelers ages 35-49 (6 percent) and ages 50-67 (4 percent) to prefer elite status as a benefit from their travel rewards program.

Among travelers in general, women prefer travel rewards in the form of free flights or nights at a hotel (49 percent women vs. 37 percent men) while men are somewhat more interested in points to redeem for travel-related items (35 percent men vs. 27 percent women).