Hotels & Lodging with Gen Z: Which Brands Lead
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The bottom line up front
Gen Z's travel identity is built around social context and discovery. The occasions they over-index most strongly are extending a work trip to explore a city (12.1% vs. 7.6% of total adults), friends' group getaways (17.8% vs. 13.7%), concerts and festivals (19.0% vs. 15.0%), and spontaneous last-minute trips (22.8% vs. 18.4%). These aren't niche use cases; they're the core of how this cohort relates to travel. And among Gen Z consumers, we see Airbnb leading on mental market share (MMS) at 10.0%, followed by Hilton (9.8%) and Holiday Inn (9.0%) while Courtyard by Marriott holds the top spot on emotional connections. That said, emerging brands occupy strong associations in the minds of Gen Z on key category entry points, such as the Autograph Collection on booking a local hotel for a staycation or weekend reset. And Airbnb has really disrupted this group, with clear strengths on staying somewhere for a week or more and wanting to feel settled and friends’ group getaway. The traditional players need to ensure that awareness and occasion relevance are aligned to fend off the newer brands in this category.
Top Over-Indexed Occasions Among Gen Z Adults (CEP Salience Index vs. Total Adults)
|
Occasion (CEP) |
Gen Z % |
Total % |
Leads Among This Segment |
|
Extending a work trip to explore |
12.1% |
7.6% |
Four Seasons, Airbnb, DoubleTree |
|
Planning a group event/venue |
11.1% |
7.6% |
Autograph Collection, Crowne Plaza |
|
Temporarily displaced from home |
12.9% |
9.5% |
Vrbo, Motel 6 |
|
Friends' group getaway |
17.8% |
13.7% |
Airbnb, Extended Stay America |
|
Conference or industry event |
12.4% |
9.7% |
Courtyard by Marriott, Sheraton |
|
Hotel deal or promotion |
12.9% |
10.1% |
Fairfield by Marriott, Kimpton |
|
Concert, sporting event, festival |
19.0% |
15.0% |
Hyatt Regency, Wyndham |
|
Spontaneous last-minute trip |
22.8% |
18.4% |
Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Airbnb |
|
Something above the everyday |
12.5% |
10.2% |
Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons |
|
Pet-friendly lodging |
11.7% |
9.7% |
Westin, Airbnb, Marriott |
Note: Marriott and Hilton were included in the survey as individual properties rather than corporate entities, along with several of their respective subsidiaries. We filtered the data for Gen Z adults that are 21+ years of age. This allows us to focus on Gen Z behaviors and attitudes in the hotel and lodging category, removing any impact of operational and legal restrictions occasionally faced by travelers under age 21.
The Gen Z Competitive Picture
Airbnb is the outright leader among Gen Z, with much greater mental market share than Vrbo. Interestingly, Vrbo is indexing the same within this cohort as with the total market. The Hilton family portfolio is collectively over-indexing with Gen Z. Hilton sits at x1.43, Hilton Garden Inn at x1.34, Hampton at x1.29 on mental market share compared to the total market. Marriott, by contrast, is flat at x0.98, Westin is a bright spot overindexing at x1.19 for Gen Z, while Sheraton indexes at x0.59. The outlier worth watching for Marriott is Autograph Collection: an index of x0.94 looks flat, but it masks specific strengths of associations with important category entry points far more relevant to Gen Z travel behavior than the MMS number suggests.
Hotels & Lodging: Mental Market Share Among Gen Z Adults vs. Total Adults
|
Brand |
Gen Z MMS |
Total MMS |
Conv Gap |
|
Airbnb |
10.0% |
5.3% |
+0.6pp |
|
Hilton |
9.8% |
6.8% |
+3.3pp |
|
Holiday Inn |
9.0% |
8.1% |
+1.1pp |
|
Marriott |
6.5% |
6.6% |
-0.2pp |
|
Best Western |
5.1% |
6.0% |
+0.8pp |
|
Hampton by Hilton |
5.0% |
3.9% |
-0.1pp |
|
Motel 6 |
4.9% |
5.9% |
+0.9pp |
|
Holiday Inn Express |
4.8% |
5.3% |
-0.6pp |
|
Comfort Inn |
4.7% |
5.4% |
+1.4pp |
|
Hilton Garden Inn |
4.2% |
3.2% |
+2.4pp |
|
Hyatt Place |
3.0% |
2.6% |
+0.6pp |
|
Comfort Suites |
2.7% |
3.7% |
+0.9pp |
|
La Quinta by Wyndham |
2.1% |
2.7% |
-0.2pp |
|
DoubleTree by Hilton |
2.1% |
2.2% |
+0.1pp |
|
Courtyard by Marriott |
2.0% |
2.7% |
+0.8pp |
|
Wyndham Hotels |
1.7% |
2.8% |
+0.0pp |
|
Residence Inn by Marriott |
1.5% |
2.1% |
+0.6pp |
|
Hyatt Regency |
1.5% |
1.8% |
+0.5pp |
|
Four Seasons Hotels |
1.5% |
1.5% |
+0.2pp |
|
Vrbo |
1.5% |
1.5% |
+0.1pp |
|
Choice Hotels |
1.4% |
2.0% |
-0.1pp |
|
Fairmont |
1.4% |
1.0% |
+0.3pp |
|
Westin |
1.4% |
1.2% |
-0.2pp |
|
Extended Stay America |
1.3% |
2.2% |
+0.7pp |
|
Fairfield by Marriott |
1.2% |
1.5% |
+0.3pp |
|
Sheraton |
1.2% |
2.0% |
+0.2pp |
|
Embassy Suites |
1.1% |
2.4% |
-0.3pp |
|
The Ritz-Carlton |
0.9% |
1.6% |
-0.4pp |
|
Crowne Plaza |
0.8% |
1.0% |
+0.1pp |
The Conversion Story
The conversion data reveals two distinct problems, not one. Hilton's +3.3pp gap and Hilton Garden Inn's +2.4pp are awareness-to-booking failures rooted in loyalty mechanics: Gen Z is considering these brands and then booking somewhere else, almost certainly because the direct-channel value proposition doesn't work for someone without business travel history. Holiday Inn Express at -0.6pp and Embassy Suites at -0.3pp represent the opposite problem: both brands are capturing bookings without strong mental pull, which means they're winning on price or availability on third-party platforms, not on preference. Airbnb's +0.6pp gap is the only genuinely healthy profile at the top of the category: consideration and bookings are aligned, and the gap is small enough that it doesn't signal a structural problem in either direction.
Conversion Gap: Mental Market Share vs. Actual Market Share Among Gen Z Adults
|
Brand |
Gen Z MMS |
Total MMS |
Conv Gap |
|
Hilton |
9.8% |
6.5% |
+3.3pp |
|
Hilton Garden Inn |
4.2% |
1.8% |
+2.4pp |
|
Comfort Inn |
4.7% |
3.3% |
+1.4pp |
|
Holiday Inn |
9.0% |
7.9% |
+1.1pp |
|
Motel 6 |
4.9% |
4.0% |
+0.9pp |
|
Comfort Suites |
2.7% |
1.8% |
+0.9pp |
|
Holiday Inn Express |
4.8% |
5.4% |
-0.6pp |
|
Embassy Suites |
1.2% |
1.5% |
-0.3pp |
|
Marriott |
6.5% |
6.7% |
-0.2pp |
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