How to Appeal to Boomer and

Millennial Travelers

Did You Know??

Boomers and Millennials make up more than half of U.S.

travelers. Today we will give some insight on how appeal to

both groups.

I’d like to start by sharing a story about a small hotel … way,

way off the beaten path.

How do You Find a Hotel in a Lost City?

It was 1984. My partner and I were hired to produce travel films thought-out Latin America. When we got to Peru, a featured segment was, of course, Machu Micchu.

It was not easy to get there, and when we arrived, I was surprised to find a small hotel right next to the famous ruins –the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.

Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge

I met the General Manager, and asked him where his guests came from. He opened his guest book – I was astonished to see guests from 11 foreign countries – all in the previous month.

I asked: “How did those guest find the hotel!?” He was very honest. Those of you that were in the hotel business in the 80s can probably relate … He said: “I don’t really know.”

“I Don’t Really Know”

He said … “We print a brochure, I give copies to some tour

operators and Peru’s tourist board. They distribute them to

travel trade show around the world. I guess it must be word

of mouth, but I don’t really know.”

That was the reality for all small and independent hotels –

that is, before the internet. Hoteliers would create their

own brochure, or be part of a co-op in a bigger brochure,

and hope it to get bookings. It was a one brochure fits all

world.

Thanks in large part the internet, being found is a lot easier.

Photos were important when printed brochures

dominated, and they’re even more important on the

internet. Case in point …

Sanctuary Lodge – Home Page

This is the current website for that small

hotel in Machu Picchu. What do you

notice? Visuals consume most of the

page?

Do you see the hotel? No. What are they

selling? The experience.

Visuals sell Travel. Duh! And, that goes

any age group, including boomers and

millennials alike. Let’s first try to quantify

the value of visuals ...

Interesting Facts

93%

94%Research Travel Online Images Increase Views

93% of travelers say their booking decisions

are impacted by online research – is this

surprising to anyone? It was to me, I would

have guessed 100%.

I assuming the other 7% don’t have access to

the internet. And, when consumers are in

research mode, they fixate on visuals – in fact,

pages with images have 94% more views than

those without images.

During their research phase consumers visit…

Site Visits

38

4.1%Site Visits Visits to Hotel Site

45 days Prior to Booking … an average of 38 sites. That is over the course

of 45 days prior to booking. 40% of those visits

happen in the final week, prior to booking.

What’s really interesting is that only 4.1% of

those visits were to the hotel’s website. What

are they doing looking at all those sites?

According to Google, 82% of travelers

comparison shop for all areas of travel,

especially for hotels. Look at it from the traveler’s

perspective, seeing you’re hotel on multiple sites

… what are they seeing?

Digital Travelers Don’t Read

80% 20%Primarily Look at Visuals Read Some Textual Content

80% of the online travelers primarily look

at visuals and 20% actually read some

textual content. -- Just look at current

website designs, like the hotel in Machu

Picchu – it’s all about visuals.

67% of consumers consider clear, detailed

images to be very important and carry

even more weight than the product

information, full description, and customer

ratings. How about image size and

quantity?

Size & Quantity

150% More Engagement with 20+ Photos

9.4%Increase in Sales with Larger Images

Size matters, it matters if you want more

bookings - when images size doubles, sales

increase by 9.4%! And, properties with 20

or more photos have 150% more

engagement than with properties with only

a few photos. So if you have larger images,

more than 20 you have to ensure the travel

sites have them. Bottom line, according to

Expedia …

The Bottom Line

$3.50Higher Average Daily Rate (ADR)

Doubling Your Hotel’s Photos Online …

Those two factors can increase your Average Daily Rate by

$3.50. It would be fair to say, if your not optimizing your

visuals on all channels, you’re leaving money on the table …

You would imagine, if more and larger photos increase

conversion, engagement and ADR, than videos and 360s

should knock it out of the park, right?

Richer Visuals?

74%Increase in prospects understanding

Those two factors can increase your Average Daily

Rate by $3.50. It would be fair to say, if your not

optimizing your visuals on all channels, you’re leaving

money on the table … You would imagine, if more and

larger photos increase conversion, engagement and

ADR, than videos and 360s should knock it out of the

park, right?

Multiple Mobile Devices?

34% 6% 13%Digital travelers use multiple devices when researching and booking travel

47%

Baby Boomer Vs. Millennial

76M

77M

Millennials - 1978 - 2000

Boomers – 1946 - 1964

There are 76 million Millennials in the US (1978-2000) and 77

million baby Boomers (1946 and 1964) – the two groups

constitute almost half of the US population (153M of 320M), and

more than half of the travelers. (CLICK)

2/3 of the country’s wealth is controlled by boomers and they

outspend millennials online 2:1 on travel. So, where are they

spending their travel dollars …

Boomer Travelers

4-5trips per year

80% luxury travel from Boomers

Luxury Travel of course. Boomers make up 80%

of the luxury travel market. They will take 4-5

trips per year, and even thought many are still

working, they will try to extend their business

trips to add a little more leisure time so they

might invite a spouse or a partner along to add a

long weekend. Hoteliers should offer add on

travel packages so boomers can combine

business with pleasure. The millennials, on the

other hand …

Millennial Travelers

9 trips per year for Millennials

60% focused on the experience

leisure

&

business

Take an average of 9 trips per year on both business and pleasure.

They also try to extend their work trips into leisure breaks. But if the

business trip is on the company money, and they extend the trip,

they may be seeking to stay somewhere other then the company

paid hotel – to save money. They seek new experiences -- 6 out of

10 millennials would rather spend their money on experiences

than material things.

Keep in mind: while they’re leaning toward budget travel now,

they’re growing up and will soon be able to spend more – they will

make more, and many will inherit some of that boomer money. No

to mention, some younger millennials may be living at home, so

they may have more money for travel. Boomers are also interested

in unique experiences …

It’s About the Experience

38%28%Millennial travel budgetBoomer travel budget

Boomers spend 28% of their annual travel budget on

experiences compared to Millennials spend who 38%.

Since the Boomers budgets are larger, and they want

to be pampered during their experiences … probably

things they’ve been dreaming about all their lives –

checking boxes on the ol bucket list. Think about what

you can offer that resonates with those travelers – be

creative, package an experience. What’s unique or

special about your property or destination?

Local Experiences

These memorable experiences lead to pictures being taken. And, when pictures are taken,

you need to share with friends and family, right. 70% of social media users update their status

and share photos while on vacation. Don’t forget, we are in the sharing economy …

It’s About Sharing

250 | 53Millennial Friends Boomer Friends

52%Inspired by Travel Photos

These memorable experiences lead to pictures being taken. And, when

pictures are taken, you need to share with friends and family, right. 70% of

social media users update their status and share photos while on vacation.

Don’t forget, we are in the sharing economy …

Content is King

65%Increased Engagement

64%Inspired by Pinterest

One month after Facebook introduced timeline for brands that

focused on photos and videos the brands saw a 65% increase in

engagement, and 87% of posts shared on Facebook are from

photos. I can’t say it enough, Visuals drive engagement.

How about Pinterest – do you post photos there?

Pinterest generates more referral traffic for businesses

than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined. 64% of

Pinterest users try a Pinterest inspired activity every

month!

Richer Media

80%Recall the Video

52%Take Action

16%Purchase

Videos online are viewed throughout the

travel journey, particularly during the

research stage. 80% of online users recall

seeing video, 52% take action and 16%

eventually purchase.

Marketing and Selling

Marketing “Noise” Tune Out Word of Mouth

Millennials are more likely to listen to peers than marketing materials and 96% of boomers

participate in word-of-mouth by passing information on to friends and family. Focus on the

value of brand advocates that will share their experiences on their social networks.

Old is New

Personalization “Little” Data

Last year, 28 percent of millennials used a traditional travel agent, compared to only 13 percent of Baby

Boomers. That almost bears repeating – Millennials use agents more than boomers by a 2:1 margin!

Both groups do research online but, it appears a growing number millennials want the insight, deals and

personal touch from agents.

2.5quintillion bytes of data

90% Within last two years

Big, Big, Big Data

Be More Engaging

CuratePsychographic &

Demographic

TargetRelevance & Engagement

How about curating visuals into psychographic and demographic

categories? Essentially adding relevant meta-data to images that

provides more context. As big data and marketing start coming

together your website, or the travel site can deliver a visuals that

resonate with that persona.

Marketers and big data will be able to display visuals that engage

or better resonate with each persona– and thus convert more

lookers to bookers. Consumers expect more personalization, and

the more personal we get the a greater chance of getting their

business.

Mobile + Local

87%Total internet sales in 2017

40%Related to location

Mobile searches (85.9 billion) are projected to exceed

desktop searches (84 billion) for the first time in this

year. By 2017, mobile devices will make up 87 percent

of the Internet-enabled devices. There are millions of

mobile search quires very day and 40% are seek

something nearby. It happens every day – travelers

search for nearby hotels on their phone. Hoteliers can

improve visibility and bookings by displaying images on

local search engines – Why? Visuals increase

engagement and conversion

The Recap

1.Everyone’s online

2.Visuals #1 for engagement

1. Big + plentiful

2. Consider video

3.Unique experience(s)

4.Do not sell - Share

5.Curate & distribute

Contact us for more information and a FREE Demo Request!

P: +1(954)893 -6778

W: www.ICEporta l . com

E: Info@ICEporta l . com

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