The Gist: 44% of U.S. Adults have family vacations on the horizon this year. When honing in on adults who have traveled in the last 6 months, those who plan to take a family vacation this year are more likely than their counterparts to have stayed at a hotel chain (such as Hilton or Marriott) or private home/apartment rental (such as Airbnb or HomeAway) than other options like boutique hotels.

After a long, rough winter this year (at least for us on the East Coast), vacation season is finally upon us. And the good news for brands in the travel and hospitality industries is that more adults are planning a family vacation this year (44%), than those who are not (40%).

Aside from the obvious indicators like household income, parental status, marital status, and employment status, there are several psychographic factors that set family vacationers apart from other individuals. To call out just a few, people who plan to take a family vacation this year are more likely than other adults to…

  •       Actively use Instagram (22% vs. 13% for other adults)
  •       Actively use Snapchat (12% vs. 6% for other adults)
  •       Choose products based on social media influence (34% vs. 21% for other adults)
  •       Spend at least an hour each day on social media (46% vs. 30% for other adults)
  •       Follow college basketball (23% vs. 13% for other adults)
  •       Closely follow the NHL (21% vs. 12% for other adults)
  •       Listen to streaming music (52% vs. 37% for other adults)
  •       Own or plan to buy a wireless speaker system (21% vs. 11% for other adults)
  •       Save money diligently (54% vs. 39% for other adults)

When honing in on adults who have traveled in the last 6 months, those who plan to take a family vacation this year are more likely than their counterparts to have stayed at a hotel chain (such as Hilton or Marriott) or private home/apartment rental (such as Airbnb or HomeAway). Boutique hotels are no more popular among people who are planning a family vacation than those who are not—and either way, the popularity of this type of hotel is bleak, to begin with (less than one-tenth of both segments have stayed at a boutique hotel in the last 6 months).

Whether it be a boutique hotel that is looking to gain more traction among these family vacationers, or a large hotel chain and/or private home rental company attempting to steal share from competitors, the best way to capture these consumers may just be through visual social platforms (like Snapchat & Instagram), on music streaming platforms (like Spotify & Pandora), and/or by sponsoring and partnering with their favorite sports leagues (like the NHL or NCAA basketball).