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Family feeling counts: Generation Y appreciates small structures, authenticity and trust.
Genuine hospitality: We value friendliness, personal closeness and a feel-good atmosphere.
Sustainable conviction: Social & regional responsibility strengthen trust in family businesses.
Recommendations work: Decisions are strongly based on reviews, social media & word of mouth.
Summary of this study
Given the great potential of Generation Y for the tourism industry, their perceptions and opinions of family-run hotels, which dominate tourism, were explored in 20 semi-structured interviews.
The study shows that Generation Y has a positive perception of the image of family-run hotels and emphasizes traditions, small-scale structures, authenticity and trust, as well as their hospitality. The results emphasize the assumption of responsibility towards family businesses, including the importance of word-of-mouth, in the communication between Generation Y and family businesses.
Based on organizational identity theory, family-run hotels can build on their core values to authentically pass on the image of a family business, contribute to differentiation and build customer relationships. This study relates Generation Y to the tourism industry, which is mainly run by family businesses. The results suggest that Generation Y should be targeted as a segment for the family-run tourism industry.
Findings from this study:
- Generation Y has a positive perception of the image of family-run hotels, emphasizing traditions, small structures, authenticity and trust
- An important aspect is the perceived hospitality, which is expressed by Generation Y in friendliness, the feeling of being welcome, the focus on the well-being of guests, personal contact, coziness and tranquility
- The sustainability of family businesses plays a role, especially in terms of social responsibility towards the community, environmental responsibility and regional focus. Generation Y believes that family businesses are more likely to give back to a destination and its residents than non-family businesses.
- Generation Y relies heavily on the experiences of others, particularly word of mouth, social networks, recommendations from family and friends and reviews.
- Family-run hotels can capitalize on the positive perception of their image by communicating tradition, continuity, trust and authenticity. A cozy, calm and personal atmosphere is important for Generation Y.