Caps and non quotes are my words:
1) They seek value from Luxury – https://www.4hoteliers.com/features/article/8443
- Millennials are more likely to stay at a luxury hotel if it’s near public transportation.
- Millennial travelers are more likely than others to make personal connections while traveling, both in-person and through social media.
- Millennials will likely make travel plans based on opinions through social media, and will spend time researching hotel options via social networks. Additionally, three in four Millennial travelers will post to one or more of their social media accounts at least once a day while traveling.
- Perks and points play into the Millennial traveler’s choice of hotels, too. The survey showed that women prefer travel rewards in the form of free flights or nights at a hotel, while men are more interested in points to redeem for travel-related items.
2) Great interview:
https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/Trending/Millennials-Redefine-Luxury-Travel/#.VEk-5fl4qb4
REACTING AGAINST THEIR WEALTHY UPBRINGING: “But to think that this generation is going to define luxury the same way as Baby Boomers or Gen Xers did is ridiculous. That’s going to get a lot of brands and marketers into a lot of trouble because there’s a generational shift coming. Many of this younger generation have grown up in very affluent circumstances, so affluence and luxury may not have the appeal for them that it did for people who didn’t grow up that way. “
“They’re striving much more for personal self-expression, and trading off money for other things when it comes to their career goals and their life goals.”
THIS IS SCARY: “A new luxury boom could potentially hit around 2020, when the millennials start reaching that period of middle age and affluence in their careers. But I’m very skeptical about whether it will play out or not.
We recently did a series of focus groups with young people who were all in professional fields and had very ambitious career goals. They all had advanced academic degrees. When I asked them what luxury meant to them, they said, “Luxury is just a marketer’s term. It doesn’t mean anything to me.” That was chilling, because what they were really saying is: “This isn’t important to me. I’m more interested in other things.”
And what kind of other things are millennials interested in?
For example, I asked about watches. These are people who are going to be in boardrooms, and their watches are going to show under their suits. Their status symbol watch wasn’t a Rolex. It was a triathlon watch because that says, “I am a triathlete. I need this triathlon watch,” not “I can spend a lot of money on a Rolex.” The triathlon watch says something about who I am; it’s internal. It’s not about the shirt or the coat or the watch I wear or the car I drive. These people are putting substance before style.
3) https://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/13142/Millennials-redefine-hotel-luxur
THIS FREAKS ME OUT: “The new generation of travelers isn’t looking for a rich type of luxury,” said Waldthausen, who recently co-authored a report on the new generation of hotel guests with Arlett Oehmichen, director of HVS’ London office. “People may come in ripped jeans and arrive on public transportation. They’ll wear Converses and a simple t-shirt, but they’ll go to the bar and drink champagne and spend their money on nice dinners with friends.”
IMPORTANT FOR RENOVATION AND REDESIGN: “It needs to be a place where people can interact with each other, an open place where people can have meetings, eat something, sit on the couch, read a book,” she said. “The new type of traveler doesn’t mind being alone, but they want to be alone together. They will sit in the lobby by themselves, but they want to be surrounded by other people.”
IMPORTANT FOR IN HOUSE F&B: “In some cases, food and beverage facilities within hotels are becoming less important and less visited,” Waldthausen said. Millennials “want to feel they’re part of the community so … they want to go outside to restaurants where they can meet local people and interact.”
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PIP, AND FLAG: “Millennials are generally not loyal to brands,” she said. “They look for value for money, and service is a key element, but it must be done in a casual way.”
I CAN SEE WHY: Some 5-star hotels are lagging behind, she said, because they find it hard to marry the services expected from a luxury property with the informality some guests want.”
4) This one’s good just for “Inclusive Exclusivity” That nails so much of what I’ve seen, it’s astonishing.
https://mashable.com/2012/04/07/luxury-brands-millennials/
“Quality, Craftmanship, and Design is the new Luxury”
“Luxury brands that wish to excel in the emerging affluent market will therefore need to craft brand stories and marketing messages that focus as much on the quest as the destination, and as much on brand values as brand value.”
5) Millennials are into luxury treatments because they were the pampered generation. That’s interesting.
6) They come from affluence, and are reacting against that, a la ripped jeans and Occupy Wall Street. Luxury means something so different to them. Not “Who I am and have become”, but “Who I want and hope to be”. That’s crazy. And it’s why they’re in debt. And their parents are picking up that tab: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2012/05/18/why-millennials-are-spending-more-than-they-earn/ That’s fascinating.
“They grew up in a time of insecurity, with 9-11 and banks cheating people. The traditional institutions and the way things are supposed to be weren’t that way for them,” says cultural analyst Donna Sabino of IpsosOTX MediaCT. “It gave them this ‘who knows what tomorrow will bring?’ and to say ‘why not treat myself?”
OH COME ON NOW REALLY? “Millennials are also more likely than older consumers, for instance, to consider La-Z-Boy, Ford, Sears, and Nike as equal to Burberry, Gucci, and Apple as what they consider to be luxury brands, according to the Luxury Institute”……“Older generations define luxury based on the price tag. The younger generation bases [the definition of luxury] more on functionality.”
“And then there is the fact that Millennials aren’t often the ones footing these purchases. Some 59% of moms pay for their Millennial child’s cell phone and 53% of moms spend more than $5,000 per year per each adult child covering everyday expenses, according to Vibrant Nation.”
