Last week, Expedia Group Media Solutions released new research into how younger generations are shaping the future of travel – and the results are important for hostels to take note of.
In yesterday’s webinar with Phocuswire, Lisa Lindberg, Vice President of Product Management, Expedia Group Media Solutions, explained how and why travel brands should be using this research to engage and convert Gen-Z travellers.
Below, we’ve explored the key takeaways for hostels:
DESTINATION INDECISIVE
Gen-Z are destination indecisive – when thinking about their next trip, they have not yet picked a destination which gives hostels a huge opportunity to influence travellers’ decision making.
Unsure about where they want to go and what they want to do, Gen-Z’s indecisiveness means 70% are very open to suggestions and actively looking for inspiration to help them decide.
Creating a downloadable destination guide for your hostel’s location, including information about your tours and activities, is a fantastic way of inspiring travellers and offering them valuable content on your local area. It’s also a great way to grow your email list – even if they decide on elsewhere for their next trip, you’re able to keep in touch and build a relationship with them via their inbox and possibly influence their future travels.
BUDGET IS KEY
Seeking the best deals is important to most travellers – and it’s no different for Gen-Z. In fact, this generation are particularly budget conscious with a huge 82% saying it’s one of their most important considerations when looking to book a trip.While Gen Z travellers think carefully about what to spend their money on, it’s certainly not slowing them down as Expedia’s research found they travel more than any other generation. Taking 2.8 trips per year, young travellers are now looking at how they can travel more for less.
The transformation of the hostel industry in recent years means that travellers don’t have to sacrifice comfort or experience to get a good deal. Think outside the box in how you can promote your sleek design and social experience in your marketing. Perhaps you can use video to showcase your space or create an ‘Instagrammable’ aspect to your hostel to encourage guests to share photos online – Happy Nest Hostel do this perfectly with their ‘quoted wall’.
EXPERIENCE > EVERYTHING (ALMOST)
While budget is an important consideration for Gen-Z, Expedia’s research also found that these travellers are seeking unique experiences in their chosen destination. They want to learn about different cultures through tours and activities that are rooted in your local area, whether that’s visiting places off the beaten track or trying new local cuisines.
They also want to know about any events happening near to your hostel, from festivals and concerts to local markets and pop-up events. An onsite blog is a great way to promote this – Atlantic Point Backpackers’ most recent blog post on the upcoming summer festivals in Cape Town was really popular.
Ultimately while budget is important, the experiences they can have in a destination drive Gen Z’s final decision.
SEEKING INSPIRATION THROUGH SOCIAL
Much like their millennial predecessors, it’s little surprise that Gen-Z are using social media to get their travel inspiration. Smartphone usage is actually higher with Gen-Z than any other generation and research has found that they are more reliant on looking on their phone at social media during the inspiration and in-trip stages of the traveller journey.
But they aren’t just scrolling through social media platforms – they’re being inspired to book trips too with 84% Gen-Z travellers influenced to make a travel-related purchase after looking on platforms like Instagram.
The most sought after – and trusted – social media content for these young travellers are photos and videos from their friends and fellow travellers who have previously visited or stayed at the same places they are interested in. This is why sharing user-generated content (posts and photos from your past guests) on your hostel’s social media is so important. The authenticity of these posts will go a long way with this generation – growing up in the digital age, Gen-Z travellers have an eye for authenticity and will quickly lose interest if they see that your posts are too curated or ‘salesy’.
OPEN TO & TRUSTING OF ADVERTISING
As the first fully digital generation, Gen-Z travellers are heavily influenced by social media advertising – but only if the ads themselves are high quality.
If experimenting with paid social ads, you need to use high quality images and videos, on-brand messaging and ensure the ad is mobile-friendly. You also must use detailed targeting through Facebook Ads Manager to ensure your ads are reaching the right people. As budget conscious travellers, including exclusive ‘% off’ deals in your paid ads will also catch the attention of Gen Z travellers – in this case, you should use Facebook advertising features to target those who have previously visited your website or who are already considering travel in your area.
BLEISURE ON THE RISE
Gen Z are starting to take business trips (approx 4-5 per year) and are capitalising on opportunities to extend them for leisure time.
With 41% of Gen-Z travellers stating that a variety of activities on offer in the area is a leading factor in their bleisure travel decisions, hostels should be showing off the tours and experiences on offer to guests. You can read our past blog post on how to boost activity bookings throughout the traveller decision-making journey here.
It’s also important to promote hostels themselves as the perfect place to book a stay for a business trip. The boom of the remote working industry has seen an increasing demand for co-working spaces and fast, free Wifi and many hostels have jumped aboard the trend, offering dedicated work spaces for their guests. Hostels such as Tribe Theory, Planters Space and One Day have been specifically designed to cater to the co-working community.
Gen-Z travellers are one of the key target audience groups for hostels. Expedia’s research has given vital insight into the behaviours, attitudes and influences of younger travellers around the world and how best hostels can engage and encourage them to book a stay.
To read more about Expedia’s research, click here.
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