Average age of hotel guests is dropping

The average age of hotel guests is dropping.

Hotels faced with new challenges as average age of guest drops

The average age of hotel guests has dropped, new research has found.

The white paper, “Who’s Sleeping with You: A Detailed Look at the US Online Hotel Guest” was produced in partnership with Hudson Crossing, and took a 3-month sample of the billion monthly travel transactions processed each month from Adara.

The key finding is surprising: 4 out of 10 hotel guests are between the ages of 18 and 36. This provides a solid counterpoint to the prevailing trend of targeting hotels towards Baby Boomers.
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The simultaneous focus on socializing the hotel experience likely plays a factor in this demographic shift, as trendy hotels like Ace create lobby scenes that create an atmosphere appealing to the more social Millennial demo.

While the purchasing behavior and expectations are different for people booking hotels vs hostels, the key customer demographic is now becoming more similar than ever. And so is the offer, as they mentioned, with hotels focusing more on social atmosphere.

There is some interesting data in the infographic included in the article. For example:

• 46% of hotel guests are aged 18-36. (Just because they’re young doesn’t mean that they’re our target market, but it’s interesting to see how our markets are becoming more similar. Hotels are looking at young people less as ‘kids’ and more like dollar signs.)
• Ony 11% of the people who booked on the brand’s website also checked an OTA. (Brand loyalty isn’t non-existent among millennials, contrary to trend reports)
• Only 4% of the people who booked through an OTA also checked the brand’s website. (The convenience of comparing options and booking in one place may be more appealing than the possibility of finding a lower price directly with the hotel – or customers are simply unaware of this possibility.)