Gen Z and Millennial business travellers are leading the way in booking blended travel, according to Hilton Worldwide's 2024 Trends Report, released on Thursday (5 October). But they aren't the only ones stepping out for leisure add-ons to business objectives, an increasing trend among business travellers of all ages, according to the report.
Hilton's report is based on a recent survey of nearly 12,000 travellers, along with Hilton performance data and observations from key executives.
Globally and across age groups from 18 to 75 years old, 46 per cent of full-time and self-employed workers plan to travel for business in 2024. Among Gen Z and Millennial workers, however, that figure rose to 53 per cent for each age group.
Among all respondents, Gen Z and Millennials are the most likely to extend their trips or take a friend or family member on a business trip in 2024.
More than one-third of business travellers in those age groups plan to add pre- or post-trip leisure days to their journey, while 29 per cent of Gen Z and 27 per cent of Millennials will add a plus-one to their business trip to share those leisure elements.
This compares to only 18 per cent and 13 per cent of Gen X or Baby Boomer business travellers, respectively, who plan to bring a business trip companion in 2024.
Overall, older workers plan to travel for business significantly less than younger workers in 2024. Among Gen X workers, just 38 per cent are planning business trips next year and that number drops to just over a quarter of Baby Boomer workers who plan to travel for business in 2024.
SMB travel changing up business mix
Travel among small and midsize businesses has pushed the hotel sector overall to revisit its offering. Once concentrated on special corporate as the mainstay of business travel, the Hilton report called small and midsize business "resilient" and revealed this group of travellers makes up "roughly 85 per cent of Hilton's business transient mix."
The hotel company plans to expand offerings to this segment in 2024, according to the report. Hilton isn't the only one planting its strategy more firmly in the SMB segment, Marriott International has stated plans for a programmatic SMB strategy and extended business travel offerings in 2024.