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Travel Trends 2005: Kids Dig Hotels Designed With Their Needs In Mind
As the family travel market grows, savvy junior consumers are playing an ever larger part in marketing strategies. According to the Travel Industry Association of America's Travel Poll, an estimated 93 million American adults took a family vacation in 2003 (up 8% from 2002). Looked at from the parents' point of view, 83% of all leisure travelers with children under 18 took them along on at least one trip. Whose choice was it? Smart marketers know that in the United States, children influence $300 billion in household spending each year. According to a 2003 survey by YPB&R, 68% of parents admitted their children were also "very influential" in vacation decision-making.
What Makes Parents & Kids Happy?
When ASTA polls its travel agent members regarding their family clients, 95% say that the top two influencers for parents in choosing a vacation destination were the variety of activities for different age groups, and the cost. Family Travel Forum Consulting (FTFc) research indicates that "cost" doesn't mean "cheap;" to most family travelers, it means "value." So, what's good value?
The American Hotel & Lodging Association recently reported that 27% of all member hotels in its Luxury category offer children's activities, while only 5% in the Budget price range do. Families perceive complimentary or low-cost children's activities at a hotel to be a good value, as are spacious suites or residential style accommodations. As all-suite brands in the mid-range price category have proliferated (the AHLA says the number of suites in the US has doubled over the last 10 years to more than 18% of all available rooms), families have begun to see separate bedrooms as a necessity rather than a luxury, regardless of cost.
What are the major influencers for kids? Children informally surveyed by FTF most often cite swimming pools, in-room video game or entertainment systems, themed décor, kid-themed restaurants, kid's clubs, and nearby attractions such as amusement parks as factors that make a hotel most appealing.
More than ever before, every segment of the travel industry must address the desires of children as well as those of their parents and grandparents. To evaluate how the hospitality industry is meeting clients' expectations, between February and June 2005, FTFc examined hundreds of "family-friendly" properties. We found several with kids' suites designed specifically for children ages 3 to 8-years, or some type of unique Family Room, and took a closer look at those with at least three of the other attributes that kids told us are especially appealing. These are the success stories.
Developing Brand Loyalty
Hoteliers interviewed say they hoped their youngest guests would feel like VIPs when given their own space to play, sleep and watch TV (freedom from parents!), and in-room perks like toys, entertainment systems, and snacks. As a marketing strategy, the concept is ingenious because brand loyalty is developed at a very young age. When children feel like valued customers and associate positive feelings with a hotel, their vacation is memorable and they clamor to return. A memorable vacation equally delights parents, who find it a good value, and may return to the brand for a future vacation.
Terry Whaples, founder of the Nickelodeon Family Suites, and 2005 recipient of Intercontinental Hotels Group's Kemmons Wilson Spirit of Family award, originated KidSuites at a Holiday Inn franchise in 1996. The hotel has since changed ownership, and is no longer a Holiday Inn property. The concept of providing children with their own bedroom, bedding and amenities was as revolutionary a decade ago as Kemmons Wilson's idea -- back in 1952 -- to build a roadside holiday inn where kids could sleep free in their parents' room.
Times have changed, and expectations along with them. A multitude of Holiday Inn hotels now offer guests a choice between KidSuites and standard rooms and, according to the company's Senior VP Brand Management Mark Snyder, a high percentage of their total Sunspree Resort inventory will soon be KidSuites. Jennifer Hodges, PR Director for the Loews Portofino Bay and Hard Rock hotels, says that the uniquely designed kids' suites at both of these properties are almost always sold out. Families book them well in advance, simply because, she says, "If the kids are happy, everyone benefits."
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