Gen Z Is Influencing Hotels to Rethink Strategies: A Skift Deep Dive

Too many hoteliers are waiting for Generation Z — the cohort born roughly between 1997 and 2012 — to get more spending power. But they shouldn't wait. The savviest hotel brands are already preparing for the post-millennial demographic's rise.

This deep dive will investigate the factors likely to remain part of Gen Z long-term. We expect next-generation travelers to shed some youthful traits as they become parents or otherwise expand their lives. So we're only interested in their traits that will last over time.

"Everything you think you know about millennials? Concentrate it tenfold, and you get Gen Z," said Fred Lalonde, co-founder and CEO of Hopper, an online travel agency with an outsized share of Gen Z customers. "Other generations are a continuum, but the millennial-to-Gen-Z span is a cliff. The next generation is completely detached from many old habits."

The caricatures of Gen Z are well-known — and easily dismissed. So Skift spoke to experts an