One of the biggest demographic trends in the hospitality arena is targeting millennials, a generation that seeks out “experience-based” travel opportunities.
From leveraging new mobile innovations to offering more dynamic lobbies for networking, many hotel brands are wisely investing in a new technology and marketing efforts to influence this generation.
Of course, the perception of millennials may not always be what hotel brands think. Although what we often think of millennials as a cohort of people who continually pursue, and invest in authentic experiences, this can reinforce a one-dimensional perception of this generation.
Reality is much more complex.
As highlighted in this recent Marketplace article, millennials are the largest and most diverse generation of Americans, with about 19 percent of them identifying as Latino or Hispanic, 13 percent as black or African-American and six percent as Asian-American.
Adding further to this complexity, a new study shows that many minority millennials lack financial security, and most are actually “losing confidence in the American narrative of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.”
With this new information in mind, hotel brands may consider new approaches to actually getting to know – and more effectively targeting – millennials in ways that meet their lifestyle and financial expectations. This could include creating more offers and discounts, or even barter arrangements with the more influential millennials on Instagram.
The core takeaway is that everything is not always what it seems. With this in mind, it’s best to invest in strategies that can you help you to better understand this diverse group, then developing the right approaches to influence their booking behaviors.