Globally, millennials roughly account for 23 per cent of the world population. While in India, millennials are around 34 per cent which is 440 million of the country’s population. Due to steady advancement in their professional careers, higher disposable income, and flexible work hours, they have more spending power. Hence, they hold great potential for the travel and hospitality industry.
Noesis, a hotel investment advisory firm, has issued a report on millennials – how they influence the Travel and Hospitality industry. It reveals the evolution of the hospitality and travel industry with regards to millennials which form the next generation of our world. The report revealed the evolution of the hospitality and travel industry with regards to millennials.
As per the findings on average, millennials in China and Singapore take four vacations within a year for a duration of four days. While the millennials in India and Indonesia would take only two vacations for a duration of five days. Most of the millennials use OTA’s to book or plan their vacation but there is a difference here as well. The millennials in China are more brand conscious as compared to millennials from India, Indonesia, and Singapore who travel more for an experience. One thing in common among all of them is they look for value for money.
Millennials alone contributed US$200 billion dollars on travel alone in the US in 2019 and this number has been growing over the years. With a median age of 28.4 in India, millennials have already become the primary breadwinners in their homes and account for 75% of the workforce by 2030. Here, the hospitality industry has a major task for the next couple of years to adapt and change to this ever-demanding generation where there is no single solution.
Millennials are tech-savvy, they are well connected and use many Internet of Things (IoT) in their daily lives. They are likely to spend less amount of time in their rooms as compared to the previous generation. Therefore, designing the hotel room and using optimum utilization of space is of utmost importance. Apart from that, they also work remotely and need a place to work. From the dining point of view, they extensively use online platforms such as Trip Advisor and Zomato for reviews. These reviews help them decide what to eat and where to eat, whether it be a takeaway or a good dining experience. Adventure sports, nature trails, local experiences, and recreational activities are on their to-do list.
The white paper also states how the hospitality industry is adapting itself to accommodate the millennial segment. Some of the well-known brands have already started operating specifically targeting Millennials. Moxy is a millennial hotel by Marriott, similarly, Tru is developed by Hilton, 25 hrs by Accor, and Indigo hotel by IHG. There are many more hotels such as Mama Shelter, Motel One and Citizen M which all are designed to attract fellow millennials.
Most of these hotels have used the space efficiently to ensure the room looks expansive and are connected to different IoT to ensure utmost comfort to the guests. The designs of these hotels are unique and depict the local culture, heritage, or abstract art. Hotel lobbies are designed in such a way that it has a lounge, co-working space as well as a café or bar. Grab and go concepts for food are also being placed in the lobby area. Dining experiences are reinvented by using visual mapping, as well as making different coloured foods using natural ingredients such as a black bun in a burger where squid ink is used, a green/ red colour pasta where spinach or beetroot puree is utilised making the dishes even more presentable and appealing.
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