Hoteliers, if you are not following Hollywood's, Madison Avenue's and the media's lead with an obsession for the new "echoboomers" you are missing the boat on heavy-spending, brand conscious consumers for years to come.

The largest generation since the '60s, "echo boomers" are coming of age. Born between 1982 and 1995, there are nearly 80 million echoboomers that will become the next dominant generation of Americans.

What does this have to do with spring break? Hotels? Destinations? And the Future?

The oldest echoboomers are just out of college, in their first jobs. The youngest echoboomers are still in grade school, but possess the same spending and branding attributes as their older counterparts They already spend $170 billion a year. What brands do they buy? Sony, Patagonia, Gillette, Aveda, W Hotels, Hyatt, Louis Vuitton, Juicy and more.

Notice the hotel brands... not your average limited service... but upscale, boutique types.

So what does Spring Break have to do with all of this? I would bet that hoteliers are noticing a different spring break crowd, spending more money on the luxury side of rooms, clubs and transportation.

There is a burning desire to be "above average" and this plays itself out at work and outside of work. They want to buy the things they might not be able to afford, but they feel entitled to buy it anyway. It's first class all the way, from the newest iPod to the most chic hotel.

Most notable for hotel marketers and destination marketers is that with this generation the greatest attribute is word of mouth. Buzz is more important than ever, and is usually started on the Internet. This can be a great way for marketers to get in the flow of information with their brand, but only if the echoboomers relate to the brand. How do you get your brand in front of and "buzzed" by this group? What could this do for your brand and revenues in the future if you can tap in?

This is a huge target market. These are the destination visitors of today and tomorrow, the hotel guests of today and tomorrow and one of the biggest spending audiences ever. Tapping into the $170 Billion they spend every year is critical, because of course, the amount will increase as they age.

Leah

Posted at 07:29 PM