YOUNG TRAVELLERS IN THEIR 20S - FACTORS AFFECTING THEIR CHOICE OF TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION

Abstract

Young travellers are growing at a faster pace than global travellers, indicating the youth market will slowly guide the direction of hospitality sector with their travel behaviours, preferences and demands. Additionally, the rise of sharing economy such as Airbnb due to advancement of technology has incurred a huge impact in the traditional hospitality sector. This lead to an ever-high competition in accommodation sector as Airbnb is highly attractive and popular among young travellers. Given a limited research on young travellers’ factors in choosing travel accommodation, coupled with the emerging Airbnb, it would henceforth be relevant to find out young travellers’ preferences and needs to aid hospitality owners in their marketing strategies. This paper had adopted an exploratory research to gain in-depth understandings on relevant information and surveys were distributed to 200 young travellers in their 20s to investigate their opinions on the importance of various factors in their accommodation selection process, the type of accommodation they most commonly used and their margin of sensitivity on additional facilities and amenities available. It was revealed that Price remained as the most important factor when selecting a travel accommodation. This study also found that Hotel was the most commonly used type of accommodation, despite the rise and popularity of Airbnb. In addition, young travellers were more willing to pay extra for air-conditioner/ heater, followed by WIFI due to rising reliance on technology. With these findings, recommendations were provided to accommodation owners on how they could better position and market themselves in the progressively competitive market. For example, aside from placing a reasonable price, accommodation owners should also ensure good reviews through provision of satisfactory services and amenities to attract more consumers.