Raise your hand if you’ve ever stretched a work conference or trip into a whole weekend vacation, paid extra to tack on a few nights or upgraded your business travel accommodations for something a little bit more comfortable (read as: luxurious)?
Only me? Yes? No? Well, not really.
For me, as well as my younger Gen-Z cousins (figuratively, not literally), we’ve all cracked the code on making business travel work for us, and most of the time, it means opening our own wallets.
Hotels.com’s new study also confirmed it: Gen Z and Millennials see work trips completely different than older generations do. According to the findings, 85% of Gen Z and 88% of Millennials view these trips as a chance to upgrade their whole experience. The company pays for the basics, sure, but younger workers are supplementing that with their own money to actually enjoy where they’re going (that is of course if your work travel isn’t middle of nowhere Idaho or North Dakota — no shade to these places though!).
Here’s what that looks like in practice. Three-quarters of younger business travelers have paid to upgrade to a nicer hotel than what their employer booked, compared to less than half of older workers. Younger travelers are also the ones treating their work trips like content opportunities, posting way more frequently than their older colleagues and willing to spend on elevated dining experiences if it means better posts. It’s part documentation, part actually living well while you’re there.
Millennials are getting creative with timing, too. Some are taking red-eyes just to land early and have a full day before their meetings start. Others are tacking on extra days after work obligations wrap up to actually see the city they flew to. When the flight is covered, staying a little longer and exploring on your own dime starts to feel worth it.
And of course, let’s not forget the rewards. People are booking hotels based on where they can stack points, then cashing those in for personal trips down the line. Work pays for business travel, you get a free vacation out of it later.
When Hotels.com asked about dream work destinations, Tokyo came out on top for Gen Z and Millennials. London ranked higher with older generations. Gen Z is also five times more likely to want a work trip to Seoul compared to Baby Boomers, which says something about how different these wish lists really are.
“Our research found that the number one reason Gen Z professionals like work trips is that it benefits their careers, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t enjoy them, too,” said Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations at Hotels.com.
She added: “While this new research shows big differences in what workers of different ages want, Hotels.com is enabling every generation’s priorities by offering flexibility in how they use their member discounts. The new Save Your Way feature lets all travelers choose to save instantly at checkout or bank their discounts as rewards to use on a future trip.”
In other words: work trips don’t have to feel like work. To make that balance easier, Hotels.com launched a new feature today called Save Your Way that lets members decide how they want to use their discounts. You can either save immediately when you book, or bank it as rewards for later. Membership is free, and you earn rewards on every stay regardless of which option you pick.
At the end of the day, we’re all dealing with student loans, rising costs, and an uncertain economy, so can you blame people for finding ways to maximize what work travel offers feels less like being extra and more like being smart? I know I’m one of those people! So if your job is sending you somewhere anyway, why not make it count?