How Tech Is Changing the Way Millennials Do Business Travel
The report determines Millennials are less brand loyal and highly connected to technology. (Photo: Thinkstock)
Note: the below are excerpts from Skift’s newly released study on the future of business travel with Millennials. You can purchase the full report here.
Building products around and marketing to the next generation of business travelers will not be an easy task. Social, fickle, design-centric and narcissistic, Millennials demand the highest of product standards while resisting traditional marketing methods. They also require careful engagement and feedback throughout their experience.
Cracking the code then means taking a hard look at Millennial sensibilities and applying the constraints of business travel to that mold. Silvercar has disrupted the rental car industry by taking a tired business model and applying mobile and design-centric flair. Hotel Tonight got traction in building a business entirely around its smartphone app.
Graphic: Skift
Design sensitivities
Virgin America is perhaps the crown jewel in Millennial-centric travel brands. That airline, launched in 2007, perennially wins ‘favorite airline’ awards among travelers thanks to its award-winning cabin design, broad connectivity options and fresh overall take on travel.
It’s important to create, at this point, a distinction between an attention to design and a propensity to spend toward design. As a less financially secure and a convenience-first generation, Millennials will always have their wallets and priorities pushing back against any well-designed product that’s too expensive or too far outside of an urban center or public transit.
Related: The Millennial’s Guide to Surviving Your First Business Trip
The on-demand economy
Uber and Lyft revolutionized this field by turning the taxi industry on its head and putting power into the hands of the users. … As on-demand services continue to grow and gain traction, more travel providers will need to take advantage of their capabilities to lure the Millennial business traveler. Already, the Andaz Liverpool Street in London is offering room service directly through its smartphone app.
Graphic: Skift
Airline trends
In an industry desperately trying to remain profitable it’s easy to see how airlines may not be aggressively marketing towards Millennials, instead electing to cut costs on cabin design, meals, and anything else not bolted to the floors. As Boomers and even Gen Xers age out of the traveling public though, airlines will quickly need to pivot. According to data from BCG research, 46% of business flight spend will fall to Millennials by 2020, while by 2025 that number will rise to 54%.
How Millennials view loyalty to airlines
What little loyalty the casual Millennial business traveler does keep tends to end up squandered on middling, unsubstantial rewards. A recent study from eMarketer revealed that most Millennial business travelers hadn’t redeemed points within 12 months, while a disproportionate number of rewards had fallen towards gift cards and upgrades rather than substantial, free flights.
Related: Brittany’s Travel Hacks: Organize Your Travel Life with These Must-Have Apps
How Millennials view loyalty to hotels
A recent study from Software Advice found that only 14% of Millennial travelers are enrolled in at least one hotel loyalty program, indicating both an indifference towards the rewards and a growing tendency for travelers to stay in boutique or vacation rental properties.
Credit cards and the points economy
While Generation Y is lukewarm on rewards programs, one exception is in credit cards. Airline and hotel credit cards have grown in popularity over the last years as consumers in the recovering economy look for new cost savings and banks explore ways in which to attract them.
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