Half of US travellers aged 20-36 regularly or occasionally stay in an Airbnb or another home-sharing accommodation, but less than one in four say it’s their preferred type of lodging, according to the 2018 Future of Millennial Travel Report.
Full-service hotels are the top choice for millennial travellers, followed by staying with family or friends, staying in all-inclusive resorts, and luxury hotel and resort stays, according to the report from Resonance Consultancy.
Even camping, cited by 33 per cent of millennials, was preferred over short-term rentals like Airbnb (23 per cent).
The findings are “contrary to the prevailing belief that hotels are in trouble with younger travellers who prefer homesharing,” said Chris Fair, president of Resonance Consultancy, a tourism, real estate and economic development consulting firm.
Airbnbs often lack the amenities that are most popular among millennial travellers, which the report says are led by free wifi access, privacy, and a swimming pool.
“If there’s one benefit hotels currently have that homestays don’t, it’s the ability to fuel discovery by bringing people together – either on a roof top happy hour for guests only or at a WiFi-and-free-coffee-enabled morning work session,” the report added. “Strangers will rarely gather at a vacation rental. That ability to connect – to see and be seen – is significantly reduced in an apartment.”
