Millennials Most Frequently Use Extended Stay Accommodations for International Travel

The GBTA Foundation released a study yesterday in partnership with WWStay, revealing that Millennials (18-34) use extended stay accommodations more than any other group. In the past year, 72 percent of Millennials stayed at one for international business travel. In comparison, only 48 percent of Gen Xers (35-54) and an even smaller 26 percent of Baby Boomers (55+) used an extended stay accommodation during the same time period.

What exactly qualifies as an extended stay accommodation?
Here is the definition we used for the survey:
An extended stay accommodation is defined as a room, house, or particular type of hotel room commonly used either for short or long-term stays. These accommodations are equipped with kitchens or kitchenettes; and may include other amenities, such as: linen, television(s), complimentary cleaning, WI-FI, etc. Extended stay accommodations include unfurnished accommodations, accommodation rentals (e.g. Airbnb, FlipKey, HomeAway, etc.), corporate furnished accommodations, and extended stay hotels.

Altogether, nearly half (48 percent) of all U.S. business travelers have used an extended stay accommodation in the past 12 months when traveling internationally for business. The study also found that U.S. based international business travelers are overwhelmingly aware of extended stay accommodations as 90 percent said they were aware of them before taking the survey. Many travelers were also familiar with the various types of extended stay accommodations.

Let’s take a deeper dive into breaking down extended stay preferences by age and gender. Women (53 percent) were slightly more likely to have stayed at extended stay accommodations in the past year than men (46 percent).

When comparing men across generations, Millennial men (75 percent) have used extended stay accommodations more in the past 12 months than Gen X men (45 percent) and Baby Boomer men (23 percent). Looking at women, Millennial women (69 percent) have used extended stay accommodations more in the past 12 months, than both Gen X women (55 percent) and Baby Boomers (30 percent).

Millennials (48 percent) are more likely to prefer accommodation rentals than extended stay hotels (35 percent) for international stays of five or more days. On the other hand, Gen Xers are more likely to prefer furnished accommodations (54 percent) to accommodation rentals (44 percent).

Similarly, by focusing on gender, we get a glimpse of preferences for men and women. Men prefer traditional hotels (72 percent) compared to extended stay hotels (62 percent) and furnished accommodations (60 percent). Women, however, are more inclined to prefer furnished accommodations (40 percent) compared to traditional hotels (28 percent).

Stay tuned for more posts on this report including satisfaction, challenges and how duty of care and travel policy play a role in extended stay accommodations. You can also join a webinar on November 18 to learn more about the study’s finding.