The ways millennial travelers — those ages 18 to 30 — value loyalty programs and utilize mobile devices are among the most significant differences uncovered by a new study from Expedia.
Expedia’s Future of Travel Study was conducted by Harris Interactive among more than 8,500 adults in 24 countries to determine their business and leisure travel preferences.
According to the study, millennials are far likelier to embrace loyalty programs while en route; half of millennials (51%) find loyalty programs important when booking hotels (51%), versus only 30% of travelers ages 46 to 65.
When it comes to booking business travel, 32% of those 30 and under report using a smartphone, and 20% report booking on a tablet. That’s compared to just 12% for smartphone and 9% for tablet for those over 45.
Other highlights from the study include:
- Globally, business travelers ages 18 to 30 more frequently report they will spend more of their company’s money on high-end meals (42%) than they would their own money compared to those ages 46 to 65 (26%).
- Millennials are also fans of room service: 37% would spend more of their company’s money on room service, versus only 21% of 46- to 65-year-olds.
- Worldwide, 30-and-unders report traveling 4.7 times per year on business, versus 3.6 times per year among 31- to 45-year-olds and 4.2 times per year among 46- to 65-year-olds.
- Millennials take more leisure trips as well, at 4.2 trips a year, versus 2.9 for 31- to 45-year-olds and 3.2 for 46- to 65-year-olds.