THE MAGAZINE OF THE WORLDWIDE HOTEL INDUSTRY
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com
Ann Bagel Storck , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : astorck @ hotelsmag . com
Nathan Greenhalgh , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : ngreenhalgh @ hotelsmag . com
Dani Friedland , Managing Editor , New Media 1.312.274.2223 E-mail : dfriedland @ mtgmediagroup . com
Queenie Burns , Vice President , Design 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : qburns @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com
Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com
Michelle Villadolid , Freelance Design E-mail : mvilladolid @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORs Mary Gostelow , Oriana Lerner
PUBLIsHING Dan Hogan , Vice President , Publisher 1.312.274.2221 dhogan @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVIsORY BOARD
Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India
Stephen Bartolin Chairman and CEO , The Broadmoor , Colorado Springs , Colorado
Eric Danziger President and CEO , Wyndham Hotel Group , Parsippany , New Jersey
Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London
Kirk Kinsell President , the Americas , IHG , Atlanta
Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai
Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia
Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta
Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo
Susan Terry Vice President Culinary Operations , Hyatt Hotels North American Operations , Chicago
EDiTOriAL AND PrODuCTiON OFFiCES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group , 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; fax : 1.312.266.3363 edit @ hotelsmag . com
SuBSCriPTiONS / CHANGE OF ADDrESS For address changes or subscription questions , please contact : Customer Service , HOTELS , 1209 Dundee Ave . # 8 , Elgin , Illinois 60120 USA . E-mail : PrintCirc @ hotelsmag . com or call : 800.554.7470 ( U . S . only )
Considering Millennials
Discussions and research analyzing the hotel wants and needs of Millennial travelers have been flooding my in-box over the past 18 months . Yes , I still use my email and continue to get more than 200 each day for business . I mention this because I read via email that Millennials don ’ t like email – they prefer text and social media communication as they are completely mobile enabled and want all communication optimized through state-of-the-art technology .
No , I am not a Millennial in the technical sense because I was born in the 1950s , and I am not even sure how to define a Millennial because I have seen research suggesting birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s . Let ’ s just say they are the emerging , mostly 20-something to about 34-year-old hotel goers . But like most of you , even though I still use email I like to think young and feel young at heart . I use my gadgets quite well , thank you , and I understand the power of social media and peer reviews .
I prefer cool design , authenticity , a social lobby , socially responsible practices , great F & B and serious bandwidth . So what makes me all that different from Millennials , and Millennials all that different from me ? Other than going to bed earlier , not feeling entitled and consuming a bit less , I am not sure we are all that different . Some refer to Millennials as arrogant , coddled and fickle , but I prefer to judge each individual on their own merits , and how much those traits play into their lodging preferences , I am not sure . At the end of the day , we all want to be treated well and find a room with a comfortable bed and good water pressure in the shower .
With all that being said , this month for good measure we decided to explore how
hotel companies are reacting to their next big spenders . Stated simply , marketing to Millennials for the moment seems to revolve around having a hip music vibe , good coffee , a great price-value proposition , automation and social connections – either via a mobile device or “ together alone ” in a lobby café . The rest tends to trend toward more typically expected services , depending on where the hotels land in the pecking order , ranging from budget to luxury .
At the end of the day for Millennials , it is about experiencing differently than what is was like when traveling with their parents . It is also about being efficient with services .
Hilton ’ s Jim Holthouser got it right when he told us , “ To me , it ’ s a mistake for lodging companies to look at their business squarely through the eyes of Millennial travelers . You still have twothirds of guests that are Boomers or Gen X , and they ’ re going to be traveling for a very long time . We have to be careful as an industry that we are not looking at the business squarely through the lens of one generation …”
We all mostly want the same thing : Great service , connectivity , fresh approaches , a bit of fun and whimsy , and execution on the basics . Is that really a new formula for a new generation ?
Editor In Chief www . hotelsmag . com September 2014 HOTELs 5