4 tips how hotels can and should connect with millennials
What can hotels do to be more attractive to millennials?
Hotels across the world are looking for ways to attract millennials, a strongly growing generation of travelers. A portion of this generation uses home sharing-services like Airbnb because it gives them a feeling of home. According to a study by Hipmunk, 44% of millennials prefer staying at Airbnb accommodations over hotels.
What can hotels do to be more attractive to millennials?
Who are millennials?
Millennials or so-called Generation Y are people who are born between 1980 to mid-1990s and are 23-38 years old in the year 2018.
Millennials are a generation described as socially conscious, self-expressive, tech-savvy, open-minded and receptive to new ways of living.
This age group is also about to earn a global aggregated annual income of four trillion dollars by 2030, which is the highest aggregated annual income among all age groups until today. For this reason, millennials will not only be the largest consumer segment but also become a huge financial opportunity for companies and a crucial part of their strategy.
We gathered 4 tips which explain how hotels can attract this age group.
Fast processes
Due to the internet they have almost unlimited access to information which has increased their overall expectations in life. Millennials are constantly on the lookout for new innovations that simplify their experiences. As today’s young business travelers grew up in the digital age, they have profound knowledge about the handling of technology and therefore ask for faster processes.
What can hotels do to speed up processes?
A way to create an enhanced experience by speeding up processes is to introduce pre check-ins via mobile devices with the help of technology solutions like conichi which enables pre-filled registration forms. This saves valuable time at the reception. In addition, thanks to the possibility of mobile payment, guests can carry out smart check-outs anytime, anywhere, which is particularly beneficial at peak times or when being in a rush in the early morning.
Reviews
GenY highly values recommendations of their peers. 71% are more likely to make a purchase when it is recommended by others. As reviews heavily influence the decision-making, it is important for hotels to encourage people to leave reviews and display them on social media as well as to keep an eye on reviews written online and respond to them appropriately.
Social Media
No other generation is as strongly visible online as GenY. A study by TNS determined that millennials worldwide spend 3.2 hours on social media per day, compared to baby boomers who are only active for 1.5 hours. The importance of social media in travel is especially high as it allows them to document and share their trips. To successfully attract this group of people, hotels need to be active on social media and create relevant content. Through effective content marketing which includes authentic, personal and socially conscious posts, hotels have a higher chance to attract millennials.
Technology
Technology is especially important to millennials as they are the first generation that handles mostly everything digitally. For that reason, companies all over the world are trying to match their services to this demand. Millennials are keen to use technologies during their travels to make the experience more seamless. Thus, we can see an increased number of hotels who respond to that need by implementing digital lighting systems or in-room tablets. But change goes beyond the room amenities. Hotels have to use technologies to optimize and automate processes. Nevertheless, it is not about replacing employees with technologies. On the contrary, hotel technology is supposed to benefit both the guests and the employees to enhance the overall hotel experience on a personal level.
The economic, social and cultural importance of millennials is undeniable. To avoid generalizations, hotels need to fully understand this age group by adapting their service to the increasing demand for innovation and authenticity.
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