New research by Hotels.com has found that Gen Z and Millennials are experts when it comes to elevating the humble work trip.
According to the Hotels.com Business Trip Report, 85% of Gen Z and 88% of Millennials say work trips are a chance to upgrade their lifestyles.
That means staying in a nicer hotel, securing a coveted restaurant reservation or earning hotel rewards.
If they can share it all on their social feeds and rack up hundreds of likes, even better.
The survey polled 2,000 US adults who travel for work and found younger travellers are pros at making their work trips work harder.
Key findings include:
They’re more likely to pay for upgrades: 73% of Gen Z and 77% of Millennial business travellers have paid out of their own pocket to upgrade to a nicer hotel, compared to just 48% of older colleagues.
Upgrades on everything: 26% of Gen Z would expense a spa treatment and one in five would put exercise classes on the company card. Millennials are most likely to expense flights, room upgrades and entertainment, while older generations expense taxis and private cars to avoid public transport.
Buddy up: Gen Z are most likely to want to bring a plus-one (50%) and nearly half (45%) would like to extend a trip to have more time with co-workers.
Bleisure time: Travellers are using business trips to live out their bleisure dreams. For 57%, the chance to visit a new destination is one of the biggest perks. On average they want to spend an extra 3-4 days in the destination after work is done.
Social sharing: they post 3-5 times more per day than older colleagues while on the road. 75% say they’ll self-fund high end dinners and entertainment to get better content.
Be opportunistic: Millennials are the most likely to arrive early and stay late – 40% have taken a redeye to get more personal time in the destination and 54% say they’d like to extend a work trip to explore solo.
Venturing further: Tokyo tops the list of dream destinations for Gen Zers and Millennials, while London ranks highly for older generations. Gen Z professionals are five times more likely to want to go to Seoul than their Baby Boomer counterparts.
Loyalty perks: 58% of business travellers say they make work travel choices based on maximizing rewards. Nearly half (49%) have used those rewards for leisure travel.
Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global Public Relations, Hotels.com, said: “Our research found that the number one reason Gen Z professionals like work trips is that it benefits their careers, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t enjoy them, too.
“While this new research shows big differences in what workers of different ages want, Hotels.com is enabling every generation’s priorities by offering flexibility in how they use their member discounts. The new Save Your Way feature lets all travellers choose to save instantly at checkout or bank their discounts as rewards to use on a future trip.”
