NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Two of the hotel industry's biggest demand segments — Gen Z and baby boomers — couldn't be more different from each other.

How both generations plan trips, what marketing campaigns resonate with them and what types of hotel stays and experiences they're spending on are the central questions hoteliers are seeking to answer.

During a panel on generational preferences at the Hotel Data Conference, Rachel Humphrey — founder of the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance — said there are 77 million baby boomers, and they make up 50% of U.S. travelers and 70% of the country’s disposable income.

But don't count out Gen Z, said Scott van Hartesvelt, founder of GCommerce. He added it might be easy for older generations to dismiss newcomers, but that would be a huge mistake, adding that Gen Z is “misunderstood.”

“They like to dig into short-term content to find long-term content. It is difficult to get their attention, and if you want to, you must have deep editorial,” he said, adding that the rate at which Gen Z reads books is 30% higher than millennials.

How baby boomers and Gen Z spend their time online is miles apart. Baby boomers like Facebook, and 80% of their search is on Google. Gen Z, meanwhile, follows social media influencers and considers word of mouth essential for their travel decisions.

“Gen Z has an advertising time span of 1.3 seconds,” Humphrey said. “And they prioritize cost.”

Humphrey said most Gen Z travelers start their travel journeys with no definite destination in mind.

How they start their search is no mystery, van Hartesvelt said.

“It is on TikTok and other micro-content sites. 659 million people looked at Travel TikTok last month. It is here, and it is legal in the U.S.,” he said.

AutoCamp chief marketing officer Bryan Terzi, said that is where creativity on the marketing front comes in. Earlier this year, AutoCamp announced a distribution partnership with Hilton.

“We are aware of content fatigue, so we change it up every two weeks, or even sooner. It is easier to do that now,” he said.

Van Hartesvelt said such thinking must accompany deep storytelling.

“It is now definitely not, stay two nights, get one free,” he said.

Bashar Wali, founder and CEO of Practice Hospitality, said he recently gave his 17-year-old daughter full rein over planning a vacation.

“We went to Southeast Asia, to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, all in 10 days, and all booked on TikTok,” he said.

What makes Gen Z so exciting as a travel demand segment is that members of that generation are investing in experiences and vacations instead of saving for bigger life purchases. Overall, Gen Z spends about 50% of its capital on travel, panelists said.

Van Hartesvelt added Gen Z are eager to travel as they do not believe home ownership will be achievable in their lifetime.

“That’s great for our industry, scary for my [15-year-old] daughter. So, they instead want experiential value,” he said.

Wali agreed.

“Travel is the new status symbol. [Gen Z] will not be caught with the old, expensive brands. They ask, how many countries have you been to? They do not even think about owning a home. That does not come into the conversation when it comes to what they want, which is travel,” he said.

Wali added that many Gen Z members are very happy to “shack up in a motel” as it prefers to spend as much money, or more, on experiential attractions.

But Gen Z travelers also want value out of their vacations, Terzi said.

“We have a two-headline approach, for example, 'affordable adventure,' with two photos to bring them into your funnel,” he said.

Terzi said the goal for hoteliers is how to monetize this new demand.

“They are spending as much on programming and experiences as they do on the room. They want exclusive,” Terzi said.

Gen Z consumers want authenticity from their brands and experiences, and van Hartesvelt warned that Gen Z can spot phony attempts at authenticity.

“Look at their total spend and work out how to capture that. Gen Z can see [nonsense] from a mile away,” he said.

For baby boomers, family and friends are still a powerful lever on decisions about hotels and destinations for trip planning, said Dorothy Dowling, managing director at business consultancy Horwath HTL.

Dowling predicted that as more baby boomers retire, the idea of life after a decades-long career will look a lot different.

“Retirement is a word that will change. They will be healthy for a very long time, and they will continue to work in some form,” she said.

Health and wellness will also be a major driver of travel decisions, Wali said.

“The pursuit of the fountain of youth has been going on forever, and science now is catching up. They are spending a lot of money on this,” Wali said.

While technology is often viewed as a barrier for older generations, panelists said a lot of baby boomers made their money from IT. But Wali advocated for better, user-friendly technology in the hospitality industry, especially in the booking stage.

“We seem to fight the customer with every transaction. In retail it is three steps, and the goods are at your door the next day. With hotels, it is 74 steps, and then I have to change the keyboard to numeric so that the hotel can get my zip code,” he said.

Dowling said the recent phenomenon of the bleisure traveler also is one of the solo traveler.

“It is about leveraging behavior and retargeting,” she said.

Members of both Gen Z and baby boomers are looking for vacations where they can unplug and unwind, Terzi said.

“Writing getaways, itineraries for a reclusive experience, ideas around mental health or nature. One example we have is that guests can borrow an extremely good camera to document their experiences,” he said.

Terzi added that the current worry about overtourism in some global destinations is an opportunity for U.S. hoteliers blessed with living in a largely empty land.

Since the pandemic, there has been a 250% increase in travel agencies catering to women, Wali said.

“Women make up 50% of the U.S. and 85% of its decision-makers,” he said.

Read more news on Hotel News Now.