InterContinental Hotels IHG dug into its data to capture some facts about a variety of topics in its 2015 Trends Report, Building Trust Capital: The new business imperative in the Kinship Economy, including the differences in the customer experience sought by Millennials and Baby Boomers.
Among the findings in the report: “These two groups have very different mind-sets, and world-views, different desires when traveling, and different approaches to brands and trust.” As the report notes: “The real opportunity for brands is strategically managing both of these groups at the same time.”
According to the research:
- Millennials prefer close, experiential relationships with brands, whereas Boomers look for brand relationships that go smoothly, with no hitches or glitches:
- 23% of Millennials say they want to stay in hotels that say something about them, versus 11% of Boomers
- Millennials are more apt to be “invisible travelers” than Baby Boomers:
- Millennials and Baby Boomers have different desires when traveling as a family. Millennials look for places that have family-centric activities where their children will be well taken care of and will have fun. Boomers prefer everyone to be together in a multi-generationally.
IHG data also shows that while Millennials are more comfortable with mobile devices—at least, they use them more in their hotel experience—they also value the human experience. The evidence:
- 45% of people 18-24 and 42% of those 25-34 book hotels via mobile device, while only 30% of people 45-54 and 22% of those 55-70 do so.
- But when it comes phone use, there isn’t nearly the delta between the groups: 54% of people 18-24 and 58% of those 25-34 call the hotel to speak to people, while 64% of people 45-54 and 69% of those 55-70 do so.
Also noted: “our analysis of IHG data shows that when Boomers experience a problem, they are more likely to complain to a person or pick up a phone. Not surprisingly, Millennials are more likely to complain about a travel experience online than through in-hotel personnel or through hotel care-line numbers.” And, of course, Millennials will more quickly turn to real-time on-line media to discuss experiences both positive and negative, while Baby Boomers tend toward word-of-mouth to 20 people.
The report is based on a series of related studies spanning three years and involving nearly 40,000 interviews with international travelers around the world.