How to attract Generation Z to your holiday rental
Learn how to attract Generation Z to your holiday accommodation
October 2024
Members of Generation Z are growing up fast, and they’re quickly becoming a lucrative market. The so-called Zoomers love to travel and often prefer to avoid traditional hotels. This makes them an ideal target market for holiday rental landlords. Read on to discover some of the best strategies for attracting young people to holiday rentals.
Why should I work on attracting Gen Z to my holiday rental?
Don’t sneer at the spending power of Generation Z. The members of this generation were born between 1997 and 2012, so many are now in their mid-to-late 20s. They have jobs and plenty of earning power, and they often love to travel.
Many Zoomers have put off having kids or chosen not to have them at all, preferring to spend their money on having adventures and enjoying their youth. They are known for valuing experiences over possessions. In several market research studies, members of Gen Z have shown that they’d rather spend money on special experiences than physical objects. This makes them particularly good customers when it comes to travel and holiday rentals.
Gen Z and holiday rentals
Of course, if you want to attract young people, it’s important to know what Gen Z is looking for. Here are some common priorities for Zoomers when they are booking accommodation:
- Check-in flexibility. Zoomers want to be able to check in at any time. This can be annoying for a landlord, but your minor inconvenience is significant for these customers.
- Breakfast. In industry surveys, Zoomers frequently say they’ll happily pay extra if a morning meal is included. Remember, young people are more likely to be vegetarian, vegan, or follow another specialist diet.
- Sauna or spa facilities. This is another very popular add-on for Gen Z, who take pampering very seriously.
- Adrenaline-pumping activities. If you can partner with a local business to cross-sell experiences like white-water rafting, skydiving, or bungee jumping, you may attract more Gen Z guests.
- Unique properties. This can be hard to quantify, but Zoomers love to have special experiences. If your property is a little quirky or different, you’re in luck.
- An excellent internet connection. More than any other age group, members of Generation Z have grown up in the digital age. An increasing number of them are digital nomads who need to work online while staying in your holiday rental. Superb internet is a basic necessity for them.
- Great photo ops. We all know that Zoomers love social media. Make your property picture-perfect, and they’ll be queuing up to share photos and videos on social media.
How to make a Gen Z-friendly holiday rental
Here are some simple strategies that can help you rent your holiday house to Zoomers:
- Provide an automated check-in process. Members of Gen Z are very comfortable with online systems and often prefer to keep things digital rather than communicate face-to-face. If they can check in using a smart lock, they’ll be happy.
- Offer your Wi-Fi password prominently at check-in. Be sure it works well everywhere on the property, as Zoomers won’t be happy if they have to go to a particular corner of the living room to get coverage.
- Upgrade to eco-friendly toiletries and cleaning products. Many Zoomers are very environmentally conscious. This sort of detail is the kind of thing they’ll love.
- Use QR codes for booking add-ons or writing reviews. Any time you can provide a digital solution, do so.
How to advertise holiday rentals for young people
Adapting a holiday rental for Gen Z is one thing, but after that, how do you encourage them to visit? If you want Zoomers to rent your holiday flat, you’ll need to target them correctly. The following tips will help:
1. List your holiday home on social media
Firstly, Zoomers don’t tend to use Google when they’re searching for something. While Google Ads may be a great tool for attracting older guests, it will have almost no effect on Generation Z. Instead, these digital natives like to find things on social networks. Instagram and TikTok are the most popular sources of information for Generation Z.
There are two ways to use social media effectively. Firstly, you can advertise your property through paid ads on social networks. Secondly, you can work on building your own social media presence. Post on a regular basis to develop a following.
2. Try influencer marketing
You can post adverts for your holiday home on social networks, but if you can get an influencer on board, you’ll have even better results. Be warned that influencer marketing can be tricky. Don’t focus on the number of followers that an influencer has, as many may be bots or fairly disengaged. Micro-influencers —people with some extremely loyal followers— can be more affordable and often more effective than huge accounts.
3. Speak their language
Remember, young people engage with very different content from older generations. Reels and memes are good ways to get in touch with Gen Z. It will help if you have a Zoomer or two in the family to judge your content and decide if it’s hitting the right notes.
4. Optimise your listings on holiday rental portals
As members of Gen Z tend not to use Google, you’ll need to attract them in other ways. Holiday rental platforms with mobile apps are a good way to go. Consider paying for premium services on rental portals that will showcase your property at the top of the listings. This way, your potential guests don’t have to scroll for hours.
5. Consider targeting digital nomads
Zoomers are more likely to be digital nomads —people who work remotely, travelling while they do so— than other generations. Digital nomads will usually rent your property for longer periods, which can be a blessing if you struggle with occupancy.
6. Separate your advertising strategies
How can you target Generation Z without losing customers from older generations? It’s worth considering how you drive traffic to your holiday rental website. Your TikTok posts can target young people, focusing on what Gen Z wants, while your Google Ads and Facebook posts are aimed at older guests.
This will mean producing different kinds of ads. For instance, older customers have different values and objectives from youngsters, so a Gen Z-focused TikTok ad won’t work for a Facebook-loving Boomer. It will take a delicate touch, but if you can pull it off, it can be very effective.