baby boomer travelers
Heading off into the sunset — that’s where you’ll find today’s boomers. Photo by Lia Norton
Like most consumers, baby boomers are value conscious: When they travel, they want to receive the best value for their money.
And they’re willing to spend top dollar to get it.
If that sounds contradictory, well, it makes perfect sense to most baby boomers.
Boomers — the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 (and this doesn’t even count the millions more born in Canada, the UK, Australia and other English-speaking baby boom countries of that era) — control 70 percent of the disposable income in the United States. And they purchase 80 percent of luxury travel.
Think about that: 80 percent. Is that a market you ca afford to ignore?
Many seniors — those born before 1946 — are also affluent. The difference is that boomers — unlike Depression- and World… Continue reading
Will boomers fill these seats? Photo by Lia Norton
I came across this piece (“A Booming Business”) on the National Restaurant Association’s website and found it mostly on target, even though some of the items come close to parodying the notion of baby boomers as, well, starting to dodder a bit.
The premise is that — as I’ve been pointing out frequently on this blog — baby boomers are a huge potential market for travel-related businesses, though many restaurant owners simply don’t know how to attract them.
According to the piece, America’s boomers — 76 million strong — spent $172 billion in U.S. restaurants in 2012 and spent more per capita than did younger diners (boomers now run from ages 49 to 67).
Yet, an industry analyst (who authored a report on the subject) found that “this is a group of people who feel neglected. Restaurant operators… Continue reading
Savvy tour operators and destination marketers are taking aim at a big newly emerging travel force: baby boomers traveling with their grandchildren.
Leading edge baby boomers, reaching age 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day, are finding themselves with more time to travel, and affluent baby boomers are ready to both spend some quality time on the road with their grandkids and spend the money necessary to make sure everyone has a memorable trip.
In a report prepared for lastminute.com, the Future Foundation identified GranTravel, as they called it, as one of the key new trends in travel and leisure. The foundation described “a new generation of active grandparents who travel with their grandchildren, making the most of their free time and spending power, while the parents continue to work.”
Austin Adventures offers a family adventure trip to the Grand Canyon. Photo from the National Park Service
Traveling with… Continue reading
Former Carnival CEO Bob Dickinson
According to a recent Harris poll, cruising has taken a serious hit in the wake of the Carnival Triumph’s power failure at sea, which received saturation coverage in the media. The public has less trust in cruises, perceives the quality of cruising in a more negative light, and is less likely to book a cruise now.
It also regards air travel as safer than cruising, the poll says.
While the results were particularly bad for Carnival, they also extended in varying degrees to other cruise lines the poll tested.
Carnival is now working to regain its tarnished reputation. Carnival Corp. — which owns not just Carnival Cruise Lines but several other lines including Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard and Seabourn — has hired Carnival’s former CEO, Bob Dickinson, as a consultant to “reassess the brands.” Dickinson is a legend in the industry and as… Continue reading
Universal Studios Hollywood logo — courtesy of Universal Studios
Universal Studios Hollywood theme park is now aggressively marketing $299 “V.I.P. Experience” passes that allow users to skip to the front of lines — avoiding waits that can sometimes seem interminable.
According to this June 10 New York Times piece, V.I.P.s also have access to valet parking and parts of the studio’s normally closed back lot, are treated to rides on special escorted trolleys, and are fed two gourmet meals (breakfast and lunch). The park even throws in some hand sanitizer, a poncho to stay dry and some mints.
If you just want to get to the front of lines or shows without waiting, you can shell out $149 ($169 in peak summer), which is considerably more than the already-steep regular one-day admission price of $84.
The allure of not standing in 45-minute lines on hot summer… Continue reading
The Viking Europe — photo from Viking River Cruises
In a previous post I talked about how Viking River Cruises, the world’s largest river cruise line, is branching out into the realm of ocean cruising, using much the same successful model they’ve used to build a river cruise empire around the globe.
Today I want to talk about the customers they’ve built that river cruise empire around: baby boomers.
In an informative article in Travel Weekly, detailing a press conference that marked the naming of ten new Viking Longships this spring, Viking’s chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen was blunt about his target market: “people with some curiosity, who have worked hard and earned some money. They haven’t had time to see these places — and not just see, but experience the culture. They’re grown-up people. They speak English. They are 55-plus.”
Hagen then continued to say, “We have… Continue reading
Alice’s Wonderland logo — courtesy of Alice’s Wonderland
Earlier this week I received e-mailed birthday greetings from a car dealer, my dentist, a local restaurant and a store specializing in outdoor clothing and gear, all businesses I have patronized at least once in the past.
While none of these caught my attention as much as, say, the e-cards and e-mails I got from family and friends, they did give me a few momentary warm and fuzzy feelings about these various businesses (even my dentist). But are they more likely to get my repeat business because of them?
Maybe, maybe not. At the very least, they reminded me that they exist, and that’s a start. Only one of them, though, gave me a further incentive to actually pay a visit, and that was the outdoor gear store, which included a printable coupon for $15 off purchases to spend during my… Continue reading
Weaving in Canyon de Chelly — Photo by Jim Harrison, courtesy of Road Scholar
In 1975, two globe-trotting American educators formed a not-for-profit organization called Elderhostel, which specialized in offering educational programs and tours for older folks who appreciated both traveling and lifelong learning opportunities. The name “Elderhostel” was a play on the youth hostel concept, popular in Europe, which one of the two had experienced during his backpack-carrying wanderings.
Elderhostel trips, which combined various on-the-road classes with inexpensive lodgings, soon branched out from the U.S. into international travel, emphasizing learning about other cultures and their history and people through lectures, excursions and field trips.
While the organization – now nearing 40 years old – has been a success, it became increasingly clear that the name “Elderhostel” was becoming a drag on its growth. Baby boomers – who as they aged were becoming the key target demographic for Elderhostel trips… Continue reading
No More Room Service in This Room — photo from Hilton
The news that New York City’s largest hotel — the New York Hilton Midtown, with 2,000 rooms occupying a prime piece of real estate on 6th Avenue between W. 53rd and 54th streets — will soon drop room service has created a bit of a stir in the hospitality industry.
No longer will guests be able to call down for meals to be brought to their rooms; instead, if they wish to eat in the hotel at all, they’ll be forced to grab something at the Hilton’s casual Herb n’ Kitchen restaurant, which opens this month in the lobby. Or, of course, they could head to the nearest diner or Starbucks. Either way, they’ll have to get dressed before gobbling their breakfasts.
Hilton says it made the move after surveying thousands of its guests. “We decided to reinvent… Continue reading
Spirit interior cabin — photo by Spirit Airlines
Interesting piece in today’s New York Times on the marketing approach employed by cut-rate Spirit Airlines. They’ve traded in customer service and comforts for low fares, and are charging extra for everything from rolling carry-on bags ($35-$50) to water ($3 a bottle) and more. Can pay toilets be far behind?
Meanwhile, Spirit’s on-time arrivals record is well below the industry average, there are no onboard movies or Wi-Fi, and seats are crammed in, offering less legroom even than the already legroom-deprived other airlines do. What’s more, the seats don’t recline – which, considering that someone reclining a seat in front of you may end up in your lap in these sardine-can conditions, may be a good thing.
So far the approach seems to be working. Spirit’s profits are growing, stock prices are up, and a fleet of new planes is planned for… Continue reading
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