Hoteliers tend to start their research into consumer behaviors with 18-year-olds, but that leaves a vast amount of the population without any considerations — kids and teenagers.
Saar Shai and Alicia Zur-Szpiro founded Wanderland, a kids and teens hospitality consultancy, to address this blind spot.
Shai and Zur-Szpiro joined Davonne Reaves on the Next Gen in Lodging podcast to discuss the inspiration behind Wanderland and what the company does to inform hotel companies of what children seek in a hotel visit.
The Wanderland founders don't have a traditional background in hospitality; they previously worked in kids-focused industries in video games, toys and publishing before realizing the opportunity in hospitality, Zur-Szpiro said.
"Everything we've done really has this common thread of entertaining kids, drawing out new ways that they play, that they interact, that they imagine," she said. "About a year ago, we brought that lens to the world of hospitality, looking at what is going on for kids and teens, and to our surprise, we found that actually relatively little is happening."
Joining the industry with little experience has proven to be an advantage, not a hindrance, Zur-Szpiro said. As outsiders, they are able to take a fresh outlook to their approach.
Wanderland compiled "The Kids Hospitality Report," which surveyed kids and parents from the U.K. and U.S. to get insights into what young travelers are seeking from a hotel stay.
Shai and Zur-Szpiro said the findings were that most hotels lump all children together when considering their offerings. Teenagers become the most overlooked age range, because most offerings include coloring books or a stuffed animal fit for a young child.
Teens are an important age range to focus on, as they have more of an impact on what their parents spend money on.
"They might be at the moment, the most potentially lucrative age segment in the hospitality industry," Shai said. "And yet, as far as the service, but also the marketing, they're kind of being sidelined even though they might become the most influential."
For more from Shai, Zur-Szpiro and Reaves, listen to the full podcast at the link above.
The Next Gen in Lodging podcast is also available to download on Apple or Spotify, where you can also subscribe to future podcast content.
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