Why Younger Travelers Can’t Choose Between Hotels and Rentals
Only 43% of Gen Z travelers say a hotel is their first choice. That figure comes from a July 2026 Rival Technologies study of 878 travelers aged 18 to 29 in the US and Canada. Another 27% said it depends on the trip, and 21% go straight to short-term rentals such as Airbnb.
That middle group matters most to an independent hotel. They are not loyal to hotels, and they are not loyal to rentals. They decide trip by trip. This guide covers which trips younger travelers cross-shop, which trips they still book hotels for, and what a small hotel can change to win more of those toss-ups.
What the Newest Surveys Say About Under-35 Travelers
Three recent studies point the same way, with one important exception.
- Reviews beat brands. In the Rival study, 61% of Gen Z said online reviews have the biggest influence on where they book. Only 14% pointed to a hotel's brand name.
- Rentals have caught up on preference. A February 2026 NerdWallet survey run by The Harris Poll found about 51% of Americans would rather stay in a vacation rental than a hotel. Gen Z and millennials drive that number, while baby boomers stay the most loyal to hotels.
- Families lean hardest toward rentals. In the same survey, 65% of parents with children under 18 preferred rentals, compared with 45% of adults without kids at home.
- Work trips still favor hotels. Booking.com for Business reports that 60% of US Gen Z business travelers chose hotels over other options.
So the under-35 guest does not dislike hotels. They compare. The type of trip decides the winner.
The Trips Where Hotels and Rentals Compete Head to Head
Group trips with friends. A hotel charges per room. A rental charges per property. When six friends split a four-bedroom house, the cost per person can fall below one hotel room. NerdWallet found Gen Z were the most likely age group to travel for a bachelor or bachelorette party, which is exactly this kind of trip.
Longer stays. After three or four nights, a kitchen, a washing machine and a separate living space start to matter. Remote workers and people between homes feel this most. Hotels chasing this business can read our guide to mid-term rental demand.
Event weekends. Concerts, weddings and festivals bring groups who want to stay together. On these dates, a hotel near the venue competes with every rental within walking distance.
Where hotels still win. Solo trips, short work trips and one-night stopovers. Here guests value a front desk, a predictable room and a central location more than extra space.
Why Younger Travelers Switch So Easily
Both options sit on the same screen. Booking.com lists hotels next to apartments and holiday homes. A guest does not need a second website to compare them.
The crowd decides, not the logo. When reviews outweigh brand names, a small independent hotel with strong reviews competes on equal terms with a big chain or a stylish rental.
Cheap is not the goal. The NerdWallet survey found half of Gen Z and 47% of millennials would rather skip a trip than book budget lodging, compared with 36% of baby boomers. Younger guests will pay for a stay that feels worth it. They will not pay for a room that feels generic.
How Independent Hotels Can Win the Toss-Up Trips
Price the trip, not just the night. Many younger guests compare a total package. Offer rate plans that match how they travel, such as a breakfast-included rate or a flexible refundable rate. In PriceLabs, you can import every rate plan linked to a room type and set a percentage or flat difference between them. The system works out each plan's price from the recommended rate and sends it to your PMS.
Make longer stays attractive. A guest staying five nights compares you with an apartment that offers a weekly discount. Review your minimum stay rules and length-of-stay offers by season. PriceLabs uses Minimum Stay Profiles and Seasonal Profiles so these rules can change through the year. Our minimum stay strategy guide covers the trade-offs.
Sell space to groups. If you have family rooms, connecting rooms or suites, show them clearly in photos and room names. Groups searching for space for four will not guess.
Know where rentals really compete. Rentals matter for some of your dates and segments, not all of them. Our comparison of hotels and short-term rentals explains where each one has the edge.
Earn reviews on purpose. Ask happy guests for a review before checkout and reply to every review. For under-35 guests, this does more work than any brand badge.
Segment by Trip Type, Not by Age
Age is a shortcut. Trip type is the real driver. A 28-year-old on a solo work trip books like a classic hotel guest. The same person planning a friend's birthday weekend shops like a rental guest. Splitting your demand by trip purpose, group size and length of stay gives you segments you can actually price. Our guide to hotel market segmentation shows how to build them.
A Word of Caution on the Numbers
These surveys measure what people say they prefer, not what they book. The NerdWallet and Rival studies cover North America only, so a hotel in Lisbon or Bangkok should test the pattern against its own booking data before acting. A stated 51% preference for rentals also does not mean rentals win 51% of bookings. Price, location and availability still decide most stays.
The pattern is still clear enough to act on. Younger guests treat every trip as a fresh choice, and they pick the property that makes that choice easy.
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