There isn’t an industry that doesn’t make eyes at the millenials, this “different” generation that questions everything and refuses the models of the past. But are they really that different?

Millenials and travel: we’re talking about not-so-young people and big money

Before going any further, let’s start by defining what we are talking about!

Who are the millenials? Basically the generation born between the mid-80s and mid-90s.

Why are we talking about them (1)? Because they refuse all the codes of the past, have new requirements, values, expectations and do not find themselves in the behaviors and habits of previous generations.

Why are we talking about them (2)? Because they are today’s and tomorrow’s customers, tomorrow’s decision-makers: in short,those who will redefine industries and above all consume the most.

They are the future because they will outlive all those who talk about them, but above all because they will make the most of everyone’s business tomorrow. And this is certainly the best reason to try to understand them (yes sorry millenials, if brands love you it’s not because you are young and disruptive but because of your spending potential).

In the midst of millennial washing

And we keep seeing initiatives and even brands aimed at millenials.

Do you remember Joon? Well ok that’s not the best example. Or maybe it is: because in the end, the millenials really didn’t get it. But let’s be careful and not throw the millennial with the bath water based on this one example: Joon’s millennial positioning was mainly intended to divert attention from the airline’s other “secret” ambitions. In the end, it will neither have seduced young people nor absorbed Air France’s long-haul flights at lower costs. Ok that was Canada Dry style millennial, let’s move on.

ALL ! Accor Live Limiteless the future and very vague new loyalty program from AccorHotels, err, from Accor. (You keep up)? At One Mile at a time they are concerned that at first glance it seems to have been designed with consultants specialized in the millenials market!

And to be honest at TravelGuys, we don’t believe in millenials. They are not like the ones before, nor like the ones after, which is by definition the characteristic of a change of generation. And it never stopped the earth from turning.

Secondly, because we blithely confuse generational rupture and moments of life. At one time we tinker with friends, at another we assert ourselves, then we build a family, then we enjoy ourselves and spend money on ourselves even if it means becoming selfish again, and we finish by rediscovering the pleasure of simple things. At each stage there is a way of situating oneself in the collective, things that are important and others that are not important.

And the millennial follows the same path as his predecessors, except that if the economic analysts are right, he will “tinker” a little longer, due to less linear careers that take off less quickly. Because we can talk as long as we want about the deep aspirations of a generation that dictates its consumption patterns, we can’t hide the financial aspect. “When you can’t have what you love, you learn to love what you have.” But over time that changes as you build a career.

But that changes over time as you build a career. It is even more impatient and demanding. He is not leaving the old consumption patterns because he is looking for meaning, but because the old players are disappointing him in terms of the experience offered. The millennial is ethical but goes to Uber because cabs have missed the mark. He is socially responsible but spents nights in Airbnb, nights that are not declared for tax purposes. But let the old world make its revolution and the millennial will return.

Older generations accepted mediocrity, millenials do not!

This is the bet of many brands that without making a product “dedicated” to millenials develop the experience dimension on all market segments because millenials are interested in experience, but so are the older ones. You don’t need to be 25 years old to put the “old” economy in front of its responsibilities, simply that we learned to be content with what we had while the millenials did not. We accepted mediocrity, they did not. And we thank them because we might have continued to put up with unpleasant cabs and hoteliers who wondered why they were asked for service and certain attitudes while we could have been happy with just a bed to sleep in, we could have been happy if the millenials hadn’t kicked the bucket.

So the millenials are not different. In a way, it’s us in worse: they want the same thing but better, immediately and without concession.

And that’s when I came across a report called: The Future of US Millenial travel. So yes, it’ s about the US and I think that in terms of behavioral marker, cultural origin is at least as divisive as generation. Nevertheless, we learn some very interesting things from it.

What are millenials’ tastes in travel?

I’m going to the point, but I suggest you read the report to get a better sense of the nuances, because there are some.

1°) Looking for authentic experiences and a return to the roots? Millennials love cities and resorts.

So much for the return to nature and other things mixed with green washing. I think that the young American tourist wants this even more than, for example, the European who may have more varied aspirations.

On the other hand, where I think they all agree is the ease and flexibility on site: the possibility of planning from day to day, the existence of public transport or at least organized or packaged arrangements allowing them to visit what needs to be visited in and out of the city by deciding at the last minute and without having a vehicle.

So much for the discovery of the “deep” country. But let’s not forget one thing: the millennial has been young for so long that he has finally aged. He is finally starting to earn a good living (at least for some) and wants to afford what he couldn’t before (yes, cities are expensive).

2°) Networker, connected to communities, born in a “social” world, the millennial loves solo travel.

Millennials want to discover countries other than their own and they don’t mind going alone.

Then I see two things in one. The attraction to foreign countries, which may be new to the US millennial but has always appealed to young Europeans, is the first. The second is the solo travel aspect for people who are said to favor community life, exchanges with others and are the opposite of a form of egoism that could be attributed to the “solo traveller”.

On the second point I have my own reading of the matter. Going alone does not mean being alone. However, instead of leaving with his gang, the millennial will make friends on the spot, either by going to meet people, by frequenting places that mix people like them (we are talking about new hotel concepts), or by using social networks.

And the last point: how do they fund this? Thanks to a simple arbitration: they save money for experiences at the expense of buying material things. So millennials don’t travel cheap, but they do cut out the superfluous in their daily lives, even if it means indulging in a bit of superfluity when they travel.

3°) Between travel and family, the millennial does not choose

By dint of presenting millenials as young people, we have forgotten to see them grow up. They start to make a good living and have children. And there I find that this is what differentiates them from their elders: becoming parents does not stop them and they continue to travel even if it is with young children.

4°) The millennial loves authenticity (bis), community…. and hotel service.

The preferred type of accommodation for millennials is a full service resort or resort! Then come stays at friends’ or family and then “all inclusive” hotels. Airbnb ? It’s not their thing.

You remember the popularity of city breaks because of the ease of organization without the headache. Here we find the same logic: they want someone to talk to, to answer their questions and organize things.

This does not mean that they do not practice homesharing: it is simply what they like the least and only do under duress, if nothing else is possible. Remember “when you can’t have what you like, you learn to like what you have”.

And hotels are gradually coming to understand what is expected of them by launching brands dedicated to this clientele (we don’t really believe in it, at least not in the long term) and by improving the overall experience in existing brands (we believe in it more…). as they age, millennials will change their tastes but their demand for experience will remain the same). But what are they waiting for in terms of experience? Of course efficiency in service, attitudes, friendliness but also activities that have nothing to do with the hotel, designed by a local connoisseur. It’s back to “take care of me” once again. A subject on which we will return in detail soon on TravelGuys.

I will add something else that is not in this study.

5°) Accustomed to new technologies and autonomous….the millennial does not know how to book his vacations on the internet

It’s is another study that talks about it. Of course, the millennial knows how to use all the technologies at his disposal to prepare his trips. But faced with an infinite number of choices, he can’t decide. Quote:

“Equally concerning, they are 26% to consider researching their vacation as one of the biggest stresses in their lives, reports Hotels.com. Overall, the French spend an average of 10 hours researching their vacations while they start to get bored after 44 minutes, according to Hôtels.com. All these figures underline the new suffering that hits the budding travelers: the “Net Lag”. It means being tired of scrolling the Web in search of the best vacation.”

Or

“To avoid facing this “unbearable search phase”, all means are good. Some (31%) go so far as to book a stay that does not suit them or on the wrong dates. Others (52%) say they are returning to destinations they have already visited, while 17% finally decide not to go. A problem that affects the daily life of new generations of travelers.”

At the end of the day, if we give credence to all this, we will end up believing that the millennial is above all a welfare recipient who is not able to make a decision.

So what to think about Millenials?

Millennials are not disruptive, they are demanding

They are not so different from their elders except that they fully assume their requirements and refuse to fit into boxes. They like hotels but will go to Airbnb as long as hoteliers don’t give them a convincing experience/price ratio. They are independent but like to be taken care of. They save more than their elders to afford great experiences but won’t pay for just anything.

As I was saying,the millennial is wrongly known as a disrupter when he is only noticed because he refuses to accept the mediocrity that we have all accepted to pay for without saying anything. It must be said that we lacked alternatives as well. He has the alternatives and is right to take advantage of them.

But it would be wrong to make a market of it. The barriers have fallen and the previous generations are starting to drop the mask, adopting the same behaviors for the same reasons.

The only market that exists is the one of experience and exigency, which is then declined differently according to the ages or periods of life. Millennials are not a market but a segment of a global multigenerational market and it would be a mistake to forget this and think that we need products for them to the exclusion of others :expectations are shared and when millennials have aged 5 years, they will go elsewhere to satisfy their needs in a concept that is better adapted to their current expectations and there will be no one left in the chains for millennials.

Photo : millenials on vacation by DisobeyArt via Shutterstock