3 millennial marketing myths to avoid in online travel

Marketers are often told to focus their efforts on this generation but that might be limiting, writes Tom Bacon

Millenials are a hot topic in marketing and segmentation – those born between the 1980s and the early noughties are said to behave differently from previous generations. Travel suppliers, in particular, are asked to develop new ways to interact with them – to inspire, to inform, to transact.

But earlier this year at the EyeforTravel Smart Analytics show in Atlanta, a number of travel marketing experts questioned this notion. Let’s consider three other ways to segment customers that may allow suppliers to better focus their marketing campaigns.

1. Income/job level

The hypothesis: Millenials don’t spend as much on travel; they are often considered particularly frugal, always looking for a good deal. 

The reality: While many travel suppliers acknowledge millennials’ lower travel spend, on average, such behaviour is more highly correlated with the job or income level of most millennials rather than with a unique new generation. Supporting this theory, all lower job-level customers are likewise more careful with travel spending, potentially both travelling less often and spending less on each trip. Arguably, travel suppliers should indeed target millennials today based on extra-frugal behaviour - but they should also plan on large increases in travel spending as the millennials achieve greater income and job levels – potentially right around the corner. Rather than ‘unique’, millenials’ frugality only reflects their current position in life and in the workplace.

2. Tech-savvy

The hypothesis: Millennials reflect considerable tech savviness. They carry smart phones and spend a lot of time on social media. They know the latest apps; they are constantly ‘connected’. 

The Reality: This again is true for millenials on average – but travel suppliers note that, rather than target millennials as unique in this feature, all generations have a tech-savvy component. In fact, many higher income tech-savvy baby boomers travel with multiple devices and are more likely to be ‘on the road’. The can be a much more attractive target segment for whom travel suppliers should design tech-heavy promotions.

3. Thrill seekers

The hypothesis: Millenials are thrill seekers.

The reality: One travel supplier in Atlanta conference offered adventure travel packages. Perhaps such a thrill-oriented travel supplier, more than any other travel supplier, can legitimately focus on millennials, right? This supplier, however, noted that there are many periods in one’s life (you don’t have to be 30!) that represent attractive times for people to consider adventure travel. There appear to be sub-peaks at virtually every birthday milestone after the age of 30: at 35, 40, at 45, etc. The combination of ‘bucket lists’ and increased income converge to make it attractive for this supplier to target older generations in addition to targeting thrill-seeking millennials.

Having said all that, millenials have one very useful feature for segmentation purposes:  you know them when you see them. Hoteliers, rental car companies or concierge services all can easily operationalise service around this market segment, potentially tailoring their offerings to customers as they walk up to the counter. 

However, in the virtual world, where most marketing is occurring online, it is often highly limiting to focus too much on millennials. Instead, suppliers should segment in a way that more directly corresponds to purchase behaviour for a particular product or service. In fact, personalisation in e-merchandising needs to rely more heavily on a variety of attributes including purchase history, social media activity, and how they use a variety of platforms and sites. In short, age isn’t everything!

Tom Bacon is a 25-year airline veteran and industry consultant in revenue optimisation. 

Questions?  Email Tom at or visit his website

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