BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- "Millennial" travelers – defined as those between 18 and 30 years old – have sharply different business and leisure travel habits and expectations than do their older peers, according to a global study released today by Expedia.com® and Egencia®, the business travel company of the Expedia, Inc. group (NASDAQ: EXPE). The Future of Travel study was conducted across five continents, asking 8,535 employed adults in 24 countries about how they conduct business and leisure travel – their likes, dislikes, preferences and pet peeves. The study aims to discover how millennials will impact the travel landscape as they gain decision-making power at work and purchase power in their personal lives.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131014/SF96692-INFO)
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/SF33870LOGO-b)
The Future of Travel Study was conducted online between August 20 and September 12, 2013 by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia. Full details on the Future of Travel Study can be found on the Expedia® Viewfinder Blog here: viewfinder.expedia.com.
Sharp differences emerged in the Future of Travel analysis, particularly the differing value that younger travelers place on mobile and on loyalty. Millennials are far likelier to embrace loyalty programs while en route; half of millennials find loyalty programs important when booking flights (48%) or hotels (51%), versus only three in ten of travelers aged 46-65 (31% & 30% respectively). Mobile and other form factors are clearly important to the future of travel. In fact, for 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. And 18-30 year-olds are far likelier than 46-65 year-olds to use mobile devices to enhance their travel experience.
The study found that younger travelers were freer with their company's money when traveling. Globally, business travelers aged 18-30 more frequently report that they will spend more of their company's money on high-end meals (42%) than they would their own money compared to those aged 46-65 (26%).Millennials are also fans of room service: 37% would spend more of their company's money on room service, versus only 21% of 46-65 year-olds.
Younger Americans (34 and under) are slightly more likely to spend company money on a flight upgrade to business- or first-class than are their older peers (35 and older). They are also slightly more likely to spend company money on high-end meals, room service and wine/alcohol, although not significant.
Millennials have more opportunities to order room service than any other age demographic, because they travel slightly more on business. Worldwide, 30-and-unders report traveling 4.7 times per year on business, versus 3.6 times per year among 31-45 year-olds, and 4.2 times per year among 46-65 year-olds. Millennials take more leisure trips as well, at 4.2 trips a year, versus 2.9 for 31-45 year-olds and 3.2 for 46-65 year-olds.
Among Americans, 45% of respondents aged 34 and younger claim to work fewer hours when they travel than they do at the office, versus 24% of Americans aged 35 and older.
American and Canadian millennials travel more frequently of any age group across any nation, reporting that they take a full 7.8 leisure trips per year. On the contrary, European respondents aged 31-45 take 2.7 leisure trips per year.
"Together, Expedia.com and Egencia help many millions of business travelers book travel each year," said Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer, Expedia Inc., of which Expedia.com and Egencia are a part. "As millennials increase their decision-making power at work and at home, they'll be increasingly disruptive in both areas of travel and our aim is to have the right mix of technology, supply and programs to make the most of every trip they take."
"Business travelers are early adopters of technology—millennial travelers even faster—and all on the move from device-to-device, from online to offline and back again," said Rob Greyber, president of Egencia. "We realize that keeping pace with millennials and future generations of corporate travelers demands significant focus on mobile in order to sustainably engage them with the right information."
Greyber added that with the company's upcoming global launch of Egencia® TripNavigator, a smart travel companion iPhone app, corporate travelers of today and tomorrow will be well equipped when on the road. The app helps travelers better navigate their in-trip experience by displaying a contextual, actionable view of the itinerary and integrating real-time trip alerts to reduce agony as travel plans change, expectedly or unexpectedly.
On the whole, the study found that:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Video b-roll of Expedia and Egencia websites, services and facilities is available for download.
Survey Methodology
This Expedia survey was conducted online from August 20, 2013 to September 12, 2013 across Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific by Harris Interactive among 8,535 respondents over the age of 18. In order to qualify to take the full survey, respondents had to be employed full time, part time or self-employed. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact: [email protected].
The survey examined business and leisure travel attitudes and behaviors among the residents of Europe (United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway), Asia Pacific (India, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand), North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), and Brazil.
About Expedia.com
Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of vacations, cheap flights, hotels, car rental, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.
Expedia, Expedia.com and the Airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST # 2029030-50
About Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. company
Egencia is a leading full-service travel management company delivering innovative corporate travel solutions and expert local service to more than 10,000 clients in nearly 60 countries around the world. As part of the Expedia, Inc. group, the world's largest travel company, Egencia provides forward-looking companies with the ability to drive compliance and cost savings in their travel programs, while meeting the needs and requirements of the modern business traveller. For more information, please visit www.egencia.com or follow us on Twitter @Egencia.
Egencia and the Egencia logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Egencia, LLC. All rights reserved. CST # 2029030-50; CST # 2083922-50.
SOURCE Expedia.com
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article