How to Reach Teen Vacation Planners

Thanks to social media, the under-20 set is taking a more active role in family vacation planning.

“Where are we going on vacation this year?” is a common question asked by teenagers thinking about their summer break. But increasingly, teens are answering their own question as they take a more active role in planning the family vacation.

“Ninety-five percent of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45 percent say they are online ‘almost constantly’,” says Adrienne Callandrello, director of social media at RCI. “YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens.” Instagram alone has more than one billion active monthly accounts, according to its parent company, Facebook.

As digital natives who grew up with the Internet and mobile apps, teens and tweens are heavy smartphone users and spend lots of time consuming photo and video content, which “makes ‘wanderlusting’ very easy to do,” Callandrello says.

To appeal to this demographic, Callandrello says that resorts don’t need to drastically change their website design, but instead should use eye-catching, vivid and high-resolution images to highlight dining options and potential experiences that appeal to teens, their parents and families on their site. “Teens and millennials value experiences while on vacation, so it’s important to show them what makes your location special and unique.” Below are Callandrello’s three tips to attract teen vacation planners:

• Ensure your property has a compelling Instagram account and is using proper hashtags to help make your page more discoverable.

• Engage with the travel community on social media platforms by commenting and sharing visitors’ user-generated content.

• Test influencer marketing by identifying relevant travel influencers and offering an incentive in return for content creation and brand amplification.

“Teens like transparency. They want to connect with brands and understand what makes them tick,” Callandrello says. “I think the next generation of vacationers is going to be very interested in what the timeshare model has to offer.”

Image credit: iStockphoto