The business world becomes more dominated by millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 30 who are tech-save digital natives. They are known to redesign the business landscape but also the traveling industry because their generation just loves to travel and take the benefits associated with it. What it means for you as an owner of a travel business is that you need to take advantage of this trend and use it to advance you company.
More Travel
A number of studies has supported the idea that millennials travel more often than their colleagues older than 30. For example, a survey by Expedia found that millennials take up to five business trips a year while their colleagues limit themselves to just two or three. In addition, the respondents of the survey between 18 and 30 have claimed that they prefer to extend a business trip into a vacation, which has been rarely practiced by others. Moreover, they have been among the first in their companies to take advantage of loyalty programs and business trip opportunities. Next, a survey by the UN estimated that around 20 percent of all international tourists are millennials and they contribute to over $170 billion in annual revenue of travel agencies.
Another inquiry performed by the Boston Consulting Group revealed a similar pattern but also provided some food for thought for travel agencies. Specifically, it was found that millennial business travelers spent around thirteen percent more on their airline tickets than their colleagues. The additional spending was directed toward purchasing better seats and having more quality in-flight entertainment during the journey. This difference among spending can be translated into millions of dollars that airline can make throughout the years.
More Spending
It can be a usual thing for a millennial traveler to spend more than needed on food and other hotel conveniences as long as the company pays for it. According to surveys identified above, nearly forty percent of them stated that they spent more money from the corporate card than they would from their personal one. They explain this by saying that experience matters during business travel, and the company needs to value the employees who are willing to travel for them. According to a travel planner from the custom writing company Proessaywriting, millennials also spend less time in cities and pay for excursions in remote destinations and organized backpacking trips. Such attitudes towards spending among millennials have persuaded some companies to place a spending limit on corporate cards to have a reasonable control.
Spontaneity
Travel business, take notes. Millennials are known for their spontaneous decisions regarding the business travel. For example, they might book a flight at the last minute and go for a good seat with some additional legroom and other conveniences. Because of this, some hotels and airline companies have begun to offer last-minute travel deals that have decent options despite the timing; for example, the apps like NextFlight became very popular in the recent years due to the increase in the millennial travel. Other examples of spontaneous decisions made by millennials during the business trips include learning a language, studying, and even more training with foreign professionals.
More Demand
Millennials prefer their service to be perfect, so they prepare for their trips with the help of apps. For example, they are very fond of online reviews apps that allow them to select the perfect hotel, rent a car, or a restaurant. When millennials started to enter the workforce, they preferred to use the Internet for business trips as well rather than advice from the colleagues. As the result, we find a lot of online review apps such as TripAdvisor on the Internet, and they are used by millions of people around the world.
Another interesting thing about millennials’ demand for services is that they are not afraid to speak their minds. For example, if there was something they did not like in the hotel, it would eventually end up on the Internet and would be read by thousands of users. As the result, the hotel industry has been changed by millennials because bad reviews will definitely be a bad thing for reputation.
Lessons Learned
We have identified four traits of millennial business travelers that could be used by travel agencies to adjust their activities and make more profits. First, they tend to travel more than colleagues and prefer to be comfortable and entertained during the flight. Second, they are not afraid of additional spending on hotels and conveniences when the company is paying. Third, they demand a perfect service and are not afraid to speak their minds through the online reviews apps.
Millenials definitely do not think that there can be too much travel, so keep this in mind as a way to increase your profits.
About the Author
Tom Jager is professional blogger. He works at A-writer. He has degree in Law and English literature. Tom has written numerous articles/online journals. You can reach him at G+ or Facebook.