// [cafeteria]
The 2026 Travel Reset: Gen Next Talks Travel, Hotels and Airlines in 2026
900+ Gen Zers spent 197 hours talking about travel on [cafeteria] — that’s long enough to travel 150,000+ miles and earn lifetime elite flying status.
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Transcriptions created with Whisper AI Audio masked to protect user privacy.
The Obligatory 20s Trip
Japan is Gen Z’s “obligatory 20s trip.”
It’s the clear winner among dream destinations. They cite scenery, culture, food, affordability, and niche interests like JDM cars.
- While Japan leads individually, Europe collectively dominates at 35% - Italy, France, and Greece all crack the top 10.
- Asia follows at 24%, anchored by Japan’s cultural pull.
- Tropical destinations claim 20%, led by Hawaii, Bora Bora, and the Maldives.
“my dream destination has always been japan, it just seems so cool and fun. i’m destined for the obligatory 20’s japan trip lol”
“my dream destination is Japan because I love the culture and food. I’m a really big fan of anime and sushi so I it’s on my bucket list.”
“Okay, my dream destination is Greece because I have a friend who is from Greece and I’ve seen the photos and it is just so nice-looking. There’s so much architecture there and beautiful beaches and the food seems so good. Also Italy because of the food.”0:00
“dubai because Rihanna”
“Okay, we’re talking about travel airlines and hotels. Let’s start. Okay, my dream destination is Seoul. Seoul, South Korea. Only because as a child, I grew up watching K-pop, K-dramas, stuff like that. So, I was always interested in that stuff. I just don’t have the money to go.”0:00
“Japan! Tokyo to be exact, I love how futuristic and creative Japan is. And the food looks AMAZINGG. I love the culture and scenery based off the videos I see online and it makes me want to build an experience of my own.”
The Journey
Gen Z discovers on social, then fact-checks everywhere else.
Their travel journey starts on TikTok and Pinterest -> then verifies with Google reviews + friends.
- Gen Z across genders gets travel inspo on social (68% of females vs. 44% of males), but females lean TikTok (40%) and Pinterest (28%), while males use Instagram (17%) and TikTok (18%) at lower rates.
- 90% check reviews across Google, Yelp, and booking sites. What they look for: cleanliness, bed bug mentions, service quality.
“I’ll usually go on Instagram or YouTube and just kind of search up different things and keywords that I’ve found that have worked over time. And usually I’ll kind of say interesting things to do in blank in like this city or cool places to stay or best hotels or just different things like that. I’m very good at figuring out that kind of stuff and I have a lot of accumulated knowledge about how to find these things and also just what to do when I’m traveling and how to find travel deals and stuff.”0:00
“I think a lot of social media, even on Instagram sometimes there’s like articles linked about like the best vacation spots or TikToks, but also like a lot of research would go into it. Like maybe I get my idea on TikTok, but I would have to do a little bit of research into if the area is safe and the weather at certain times of the year, like online and in articles to make sure that I’m really making the right decision.”0:00
“Oh you should know this already. I love to go to Pinterest. Pinterest is like the most perfect app to go to layout and actually visualize and be able to map out your destination when you get there to your vacation and it’s very good for like inspo. So yeah I just make boards and put them all together.”0:00
“Well, I do like a general Google search first, like, you know, best places to go and like rubber or like, I try to like narrow down sometimes like best shoes for like young adults or kind of like teenagers because some of the stuff is like not my style. But then I’ll like go through and I’ll pick out stuff that looks interesting, you know, I’ll look into it. I also like to look on TikTok a lot for inspiration, that’s really good.”0:00
“Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Yelp, TripAdvisor, YouTube, a lot of social media apps because those are places where you can basically find travel itineraries and you can see like full synthesis of the places that you’re going to like people will talk about how safe they felt on their trip the different places they went what the vibe was like they’ll have visuals of it they’ll talk about where their favorite places to go their least favorite places to go like you kind of see those compilations along with the whether or not they have the big features that you’re looking for in a trip”0:00
Where Gen Z Books
1 in 4 Gen Z skip the middleman. Nearly a quarter of Gen Z bypasses OTAs, going direct to airline and hotel websites and apps.
- Expedia is the favorite OTA at 19%, narrowly edging Google’s 18%. Google splits into two use cases – general search vs. purpose-built Google Flights.
- TikTok’s 5% penetration across genders proves social media has entered the booking funnel as a discovery layer, not just inspiration.
Still on the Family Plan
Gen Z travel booking is a slow handoff from parents to independence. Across 14-26, half book themselves, half defer to parents (mom 24%, dad 10%, both 16%).
14-17: The Backseat Traveler
- 65% parent-booked | 18% self-booked
- Exposure to airline + hotel family loyalty programs
18-21: The Co-Pilot
- 42% self-booked | 40% parent-booked (split)
- Active bookers without their own credit cards
22+: The Driver
- 48% self-booked | 29% parent-booked
- Partners start entering the picture (4% co-book)
Coach Flights, Michelin Nights
The flight is a means. The food and experiences are the ends.
Among Gen Z who self-book, they strategically save on flights to splurge on experiences + food. For some, hotels occupy a “good enough” middle ground.
- Flights = #1 savings target (37% of 18-21 actively save, dropping to 29% at 22+)
- Hotels = split between luxury and budget (29% splurge vs. 28% save)
- Food = most protected (50% splurge)
- Experiences = most protected (51% splurge)
“I usually splurge on food experiences and shopping while I’m there. I don’t really care about how I get there or where I stay because the real memories are made at the places you go once you’re there.”0:00
“I probably splurge the most on transportation and food. Flights just kind of take the cheapest safe option and hotels. I do like have a quality standard, but it doesn’t need to be like really fancy. Heck, like me personally, I don’t even need a pool. I just want it to be clean and in a safe part of town. But transportation, I like if I need to rent a car, I like to rent something nice and new if I can get a hold of that. And food and experiences I think is more important to me than how I get there and where I stay.”0:00
“When it comes for trips, things I splurge on would have to be definitely food experiences I’ll have, whereas with flights I don’t mind if I have to sit and coach, and then sometimes even the rooms too, just make sure it’s good quality.”0:00
“I like to splurge on food, especially in big food cities with a lot of interesting restaurants.”
“I’d say when it comes to budgeting, me and my mom typically splurge the most on experiences and food because, you know, there’s so many different things in different areas that we want to try that maybe you see on TikTok or something.”0:00
It’s Always Uber
Luggage + fatigue = Uber wins at arrival. But it’s the subway after that.
26% of 18+ self-bookers mention they save on transportation. But this does not mean taking public transportation from the airport.
- 73% of those who mention saving on transportation report taking Uber/Lyft from the airport.
- The “savings” happens during the trip (choosing subway over Uber for around-town travel), not at arrival (where luggage + fatigue make Uber the default).
All (Not) Aboard
Gen Z isn’t rejecting cruises – they’re either fully on board or stuck between wanting the experience and dreading the downsides.
“Fun” tops the list (30%), but rarely stands alone – it’s almost always paired with concerns of seasickness, fear, or disgust.
The all-inclusive food promise lands, yet gets undercut by anxiety of Titanic-level catastrophe. Females feel this tension most acutely: they account for 72% of fear-related responses but also lead positive sentiment.
“no thank you. those are the three words that come to my mind. I don’t know, like I said, the Titanic, like I’m scared. you never know what could happen on cruises, like I don’t know, pirates or something. it just sounds scary to me. you ever watch the alvin and chipmunk shipwreck? hell no. like I don’t know, I’m just not a big fan of going on a cruise. maybe in the future I’ll be okay with it. I can’t even swim so it’s kind of scary waking up and you’re just around water. I mean, it sounds kind of cool, kind of like the ocean’s rocking you to sleep, but right now it’s just like no thank you on cruises. especially with the bad reputation that that one cruise has, what’s it called, the carnival? yeah, no.”0:00
“I’ve never been but I’d use fun, kinda scary, relaxing”
“I don’t go to cruises. It’s kind of scary to me. Scary, uncomfortable, seasick.”0:00
“Cruises sound scary. I don’t know if I would ever go on one. But from what I have seen, three words that come to mind would probably be fun, adventure, adventurous or adventure, and I don’t know, party.”0:00
Nonstop or Nothing
Arrive tired + waste day one. No thank you.
Gen Z prioritizes convenient departure and arrival times, actively avoiding crack-of-dawn flights (4-5am) and late-night arrivals. They want to maximize usable time at their destination by arriving with enough daylight left to actually do something.
Fave Airlines
From Biscoff cookies to canceled flights, Gen Z’s airline loyalty is won in the details and lost in the failures.
When Gen Z thinks airlines:
- Premium at fair prices = Delta + JetBlue
- Biscoff cookie nostalgia = Delta
- Best screens/WiFi = JetBlue
- Most legroom = JetBlue + United
- Reliable family default = United
- Open seating = Southwest
Loyalty deal breakers:
- Operational failures (American’s delays/cancellations)
- Taking away perks (Southwest ending free checked bags policy in May 2025)
“Definitely United. I think that we’ve just been very loyal to that company. Their flights are like reasonably priced. The airplanes are very nice. The service is typically pretty good and it’s usually pretty reliable. So definitely United is one that we fly most. I’ve flown Delta before. I like it. It’s fine. American’s fine. I know Emirates is super nice. I would definitely love to fly that airline if I, you know, could budget for that. But as I said before, like expensive transportation just isn’t like my main area of focus. So I’d say United. It’s just like the best bang for your buck.”0:00
“I love American Airlines. That is my first ever airline I ever flew at and it was a good experience and I don’t think I would try anywhere else.”0:00
“My favorite airline? Probably JetBlue because like the TVs I feel like the technology is nice but now technology is going up. Honestly the best are the good snacks and the good TVs with like good movies.”
“delta, I believe it has the most value for the money and you get a very premium experience on even the most basic ticket”
“I’ve had terrible experiences with American in terms of flight delays and some flights being cancelled the night before travel etc. And I’m not a fan of changes being made at Southwest regarding free bags and snacks. The best flights I’ve taken have been with Alaska and British Airways. I have yet to fly Delta but I know that will be a great experience.”
“it used to be southwest because of their 2 free checked bags policy but they’ve just changed that so they fell out of my favorite list”
“My favorite airline of all time was Alaskan Airlines when I went to San Diego, California because they gave us free food and it was super clean and all the seats were super nice and they had little TVs that you can connect to and play movies on. It was very cheap to to play movies and stuff like that. Yeah, it was just a really great experience.”
“I like Cathay Pacific, but I never get to fly it because it’s really just an Asian airline and I’m hardly going to Asia nowadays. I guess of the American ones, I like Delta the most, because their service is a step above. and yet, I’m always stuck coming back to American Airlines because of their international partners.”
The Go-To Flight Fit
Gen Z’s flight uniform: hoodies, sweatpants, and whatever slips on fastest.
24-27% default to hoodies + sweatpants.
Brands get named unprompted for footwear: UGG, Crocs, Nike, Birkenstock.
Sneakers skew heavily female: 27% vs. 13% male — men prefer slides instead.
“I love a good sweat set and Uggs. I think it’s the most comfortable. I think people who fly in jeans are serial killers because how could you sit for hours in jeans? I think leggings or sweats are definitely the way to go. They’re the most comfortable. They make me feel the most safe and happy. So that’s where I usually go.”
“Something comfortable, some nice open-toed shoes, maybe some Crocs, just something comfortable. Like, I’m not putting on no shoes or anything like that.”0:00
“My go-to airplane fit is definitely a pair of comfy sweats and probably like a sleep bra and a comfy hoodie or a comfy t-shirt if I’m flying into somewhere really hot but I definitely don’t like wearing shorts on planes because I don’t like getting my legs on the seats and for shoes I’ll usually just wear either sneakers if I know I’m gonna be walking a lot or Uggs but I always just take them off on the plane anyway”0:00
“Um, it’s gonna be a full hoodie, um, sweats, and slippers. Birks or whatever.”0:00
“Sweatpants, t-shirt, super simple stuff, honestly. I always just have some super comfy shoes. I do that really disgusting thing that I’ve heard a lot of people say is disgusting, but I do it anyway, where you just take your shoes off in the plane. I do leave my socks on, but I keep my shoes off. But obviously when I get up to go to the restroom and grab something, I’ll put my shoes back on.”0:00
“I love to wear something comfortable. I love wearing like sweatpants that are pretty baggy and don’t have cuffs around the ankles. I love those a lot. I usually go with like my Hoga’s or Nike shoes with compression socks, especially since I sit and sleep a lot on the plane. And I usually either wear like a short sleeve or long-sleeve shirt and usually bring a jacket as it can get very cold inside the plane.”0:00
Google Maps Is the First Stop
Gen Z scouts hotels like real estate. Google Maps is the new hotel search.
They’re using Google/Apple Maps for geo-discovery and scouting hotel locations - a spatial thinking approach traditional booking platforms don’t always serve well.
What they look for when booking:
- Location (24%, across all demographics)
- Cleanliness (second most critical, skews female)
- Views & windows
“location. I will go on Google Maps and look at the location to see if it’s in a good area or not because if it’s not in a good area that means it’s probably not a safe place to be and it’s probably also going to be dirty because that’s usually how it’s worked. Every time I go to a hotel that isn’t in a good area it’s dirty inside or it’s bad service and I feel unsafe and it’s just terrible but mostly reviews and the location.”0:00
“Choosing between hotels, price is very important with me, and I would also say that location matters so it’s close to the airport.”0:00
“Hotels, google maps to see what has a location I like, then the hotels website for rooms and amenities. Not “travel” websites”
“Tripadvisor and Google Maps have the best reviews since they have enough users to get accurate ratings.”
“I usually go on google maps and find things or sites that might interest me such as a cool park, monument or an area for sightseeing”
“definitely the reviews I know that some hotels have just a reputation for being kind of dirty and I just don’t want to sleep in a bed that’s dirty so yeah and then definitely like proximity from where I’m where the airport is where I need to be it’s very like based on my like specific trip so I can’t really tell you that much right now but definitely just overall ratings is super important to me like I don’t want to stay in a hotel that like is sketchy”0:00
Same Difference
Hilton vs. Marriott? Gen Z says “sure, both.”
Hilton + Marriott dominate Gen Z hotel mindshare. But only one-third are brand loyalists, while 28% mention both interchangeably.
Breakfast + Scroll
Give them breakfast, not points.
Loyalty points are Gen Z’s least wanted hotel perk — 65% ranked them dead last.
Free Wi-Fi? Not a perk, an expectation (63% say table stakes).
The perk hierarchy:
- Free tangibles — WiFi, breakfast
- Convenience — early check-in, late checkout
- Status perks — loyalty points, floor level
This Could’ve Been an Email
Gen Z tolerates hotel apps — they don’t love them.
- Positive sentiment focuses on friction-reducers: mobile check-in and digital keys.
- Negative comments focus on redundancy with email/web and “useless info.”
The rule: Apps earn phone space when they unlock exclusive capabilities (skip the front desk, open your room) — not when they’re just mobile websites.
“I feel like they’re always, like, super clunky, and they just, they’re confusing, they’re poorly designed, they just don’t work well. I’ll have them if I have to use them, but I try not to use them if I don’t have to.”
“Yes, I think they definitely are because some of them allow you to check in from online and then all you have to do is go to get your, like, number and verify, like, your room. And like, sometimes you can definitely, you can use your phone app for a key.”0:00
“I would say they’re not that useful. They’re kind of useless because, like, they’re kind of laggy, they’re slow, and they don’t really work half the time, and, like, you, when you get there, you still have to wait for your room to get ready.”0:00
“No, I feel like I don’t use them that much. I feel like there’s not really a use for them most often. I feel like you can just, like, call them. I don’t think you need to use that.”0:00
“I’ve never really used hotel apps I never found them like useful I guess because like you can just go online go to their website not really need their app um I don’t think there’s anything different between the website and the app”0:00
“I think they are because I oftentimes prefer to text customer service instead of call and a lot of hotel apps offer this feature and I also I think we live in a society where so many of our cards are on our phone and in Apple Wallet and a lot of the hotel apps I’ve used provide the key card in the app and that makes it really convenient to not have to carry around the physical card”0:00
“No, because you can just get all the information on our website.”0:00
Hotels for Two, Airbnb for Crew
Hotels own convenience and safety. Airbnb owns group economics and extended stays.
→ Gen Z chooses Airbnb when:
- Traveling with 6+ people (split costs, stay together)
- Staying 7+ nights (kitchen access)
- Want the cheaper option after doing the math
→ Chooses hotel when:
- Staying 1-2 nights (convenience wins)
- Traveling solo or as a couple (hotels often cheaper)
- Safety is a priority
“I choose Airbnb if I’m staying with a large group and need a kitchen. also if I’m going to a remote area or simply want to stay at somewhere kitschy”
“I pick an Airbnb when I’m going somewhere with a large group that wants to be together most of the time and I pick a hotel when I’m just going with a small amount of people that we’d rather have all the amenities and such.”0:00
“I usually would pick an Airbnb if we’re staying somewhere for a long time. When I went to Florida a few years ago we stayed in an Airbnb because we were there for a whole week but if we’re going for like five or six days and I think a hotel. Personally I like a hotel experience better because I think it’s more like luxurious and fun and feels more like a vacation because an Airbnb is kind of just like a house and it feels like you’re just at home but an Airbnb is still very fun because you’re in an exotic place that maybe you’ve never been before or is not your home.”0:00
“I personally prefer hotels. I feel like I just, I don’t know, it’s a mental thing for me. I just like hotels more. I don’t really know why, but my parents love Airbnbs. They think they’re the best because you have more space. And I like that. I think that hotels are better because you just have more, it’s more luxurious, I feel like, than an Airbnb. It’s tailored, it’s personalized services. It makes you feel happy.”0:00
“I usually do hotels because it’s more luxurious, like people clean up after me. I would rather not clean up after myself.”0:00
“Hotel is if you’re in more of a city, and so there’s just more hotels, but if you’re going to somewhere where it’s more like of a small-town vibe, then an Airbnb. Also maybe depends how many people you’re staying with, like maybe if you’re staying with a lot of people, you’d want like a house, so an Airbnb.”0:00
Mom’s Credit Card
Mom’s credit card is the first loyalty program.
42% of 14-17 year olds have frequent flyer accounts through family. Nearly 1 in 10 teens explicitly use their parents’ airline credit cards.
Airlines win the loyalty long game:
- Gen Z engages with airline credit cards at 4x the rate of hotel cards.
- Only 20% of Gen Z adults (18+) have hotel loyalty accounts (drops to 16% at 22+). Even among those with accounts, only one-third are true brand loyalists.
Flight Perks + Priorities
Perks they want: bags. Pain they feel: legroom.
Status perks like priority boarding and seat upgrades are secondary to immediate-value perks like free checked bags.
But when asked what airlines should improve, legroom dominates — 19% mention it unprompted, 3x more than any other complaint.
Kind Staff Make the Group Chat
Warmth is what Gen Z remembers. Efficiency is just expected — fast doesn’t make the group chat.
When asked about their last great customer service experience, 31% named friendly staff — 2x more than any other factor.
- The shareable stories? Staff who solve problems, go above and beyond, and surprise them with small gestures (free treats, birthday extras).
- Only 11% mention smooth processes, and never alone — always paired with warmth. “Quick + kind,” not just quick.
“Greece this summer and the front desk lady went above and beyond to store our bags and help us spend a half day in a very meaningful way while we waited for a room to be ready. She didn’t have to do this but she did and going above and beyond stands out.”0:00
“The last great customer travel experience I had was probably with, let’s see, where did I go? I was in Japan and there was this person at the Hilton in Tokyo and they were very accommodating and able to change our room even because the reservation was made wrong and able to upgrade us and get us a bunch of free stuff.”0:00
“I was recently in Chicago for a travel conference and I stayed in Chicago’s oldest hotel and the staff was just absolutely amazing. I ended up checking in very late at night but they were still super helpful and they gave me a free brownie.”0:00
“Okay, so the last great travel customer service experience I had was when I was running really late for a flight. I think boarding had already begun when I got to the airport and I guess, I don’t think I had a checked bag, no. I didn’t have a checked bag but I needed to get a pass because I was flying with my cat from the check-in desk and I think for a minute they were deciding whether or not to let me through because of how late I was running but because I didn’t have anything to check in or maybe because they just didn’t feel like stopping me, they were just like, go hurry and it was kind of funny because they were telling me to hurry through TSA and that’s not really something that you can have any control over but yeah, I thought the vibes were pretty funny because they were literally talking about going on break and showing memes to each other in between deciding whether or not I was going to miss my flight or not and I know that doesn’t really correlate to typical good customer experience but it was just so human, I can’t not appreciate it.”0:00
“I love the hotel at Universal. The Portofino Bay hotels at Universal are always amazing because the people there know you by name and they’re so sweet and they give you all this Harry Potter magical energy and I just think it’s so sweet.”0:00
“um one time when I was traveling abroad somewhere in Europe I forget I think it was maybe in London um but the hotel that we had booked when we got there they were having a really hard time like finding our room and the Wi-Fi wasn’t working and the room they put us in was really not nice because the people in the room next to us were arguing and we couldn’t hear it we couldn’t sleep and so we went down and the lady who was working at the front desk was really really kind to us and she upgraded us to a nicer room with like a beautiful view and like gave us like free stuff from the little hotel gift shop that had like candy and ice cream and stuff like that and she really like upgraded us and made our stay very nice and really helped out instead of just like telling us to deal with the noise and the um like all the not nice parts”0:00