The Biggest Shift in Luxury Travel Right Now?Two Words: Gen Z
We’ve all been hearing a lot lately about Gen Z, the so-called “digital natives” aged 13 to 28 who are now entering the workforce and, increasingly, the travel marketplace. By 2030, they’ll make up roughly 30 percent of all workers worldwide and drive up to 25% of global luxury spend. That’s only a few years off, raising important questions for those of us in the luxury travel industry: How do we attract them? What do they want?
You might have seen a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal about companies hiring “Gen Z translators” to help brand executives understand this generation’s worldview. But in travel, I’d argue we don’t need translators per se. We just need to listen.
And what I’m hearing — from advisors, hoteliers, and even a few Gen Z travelers themselves — is that despite their reputation for living through their screens, they still want a human touch. They rely on technology for inspiration, planning, and booking — but still want to feel recognized and understood, on their own terms.
They’re also wielding more influence than many realize. Even on multigenerational trips, they’re increasingly steering decisions. “Parents or grandparents might set the budget, but the kids are absolutely setting the tone,” says Haley Sontag, a 26-year-old advisor with Valerie Wilson Travel in New York. “They’re the ones saying, ‘I saw this on TikTok’ or ‘my friends went there.’ They’re shaping where families go and what they do once they get there.”
And they’re doing it with growing assertiveness — and purchasing power. According to a recent study from Altagamma and BCG, more than half of Gen Z increased their luxury spending in the past year, with nearly 80% feeling confident about their spending in the year ahead, outpacing older generations.
DIGITAL NATIVES WHO SPEND LIKE CONNOISSEURS
It’s a truism in luxury travel that technology should enhance service, not replace it — and that’s never been truer than it is now in the ChatGPT era. Gen Z finds most of their travel inspiration online — not just from ads or influencer posts, but from creators who feel authentic and from friends who’ve shared experiences that look achievable yet elevated. TikTok and Instagram aren’t just marketing channels for them: They’re mood boards, recommendation engines, and social validation loops all in one.
Once they’re ready to act, they expect the transaction to be instant and painless — they might spot a resort on TikTok, price it on Hopper, and book with Apple Pay in a few taps — but once the logistics are out of the way, they want human connection.
“My clients are inundated with so much information but they’re not really sure what neighborhood to stay in in Rome, or if that café they saw on TikTok is actually cool,” says Emily West, a luxury advisor based in Birmingham, Ala., affiliated with Jet Set World Travel — and a member of Gen Z herself. “It’s easy to get analysis paralysis, so I help them sift through the options and curate an itinerary.”
Sontag sees the same phenomenon — as well as the pitfalls. “We’ll get sent restaurants or activities that look great online, but our DMCs on the ground will say, ‘No, don’t send clients there — it’s a tourist trap,’” she says. “People are realizing that what’s trending isn’t always worth the hype.” For her Gen Z clients, she adds, that’s where advisors (supported by their DMC knowledge base) come in — not as booking agents, but as trusted filters with firsthand experience.
Indeed, turning to advisors for help planning and booking a trip comes more easily to these digital natives than to older generations. “Gen Z grew up with the outsourced economy — Instacart, Uber Eats — so handing off their travel to a professional feels completely natural to them,” says Rebecca Alesia, a New York–based advisor with SmartFlyer. “Millennials thought they could do everything themselves. Gen Z outsources whatever they can.” And that shift toward curation over DIY shows up again in how younger travelers approach luxury.
REPROGRAMMING LUXURY
According to a recent study from Cap Gemini, the next generation of high net worth individuals — including Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z — are set to inherit $83.5 trillion between now and 2048. Of Gen Z specifically, nearly a quarter named travel and hospitality their top category for luxury spend, higher than the other groups.
Their motivations are distinct from those of older generations as well. As the Altagamma/BCG report notes, older luxury customers often view luxury as a reward for hard work or a way to build legacy; Gen Z sees it as self-expression: a way to project identity and values in real time.
In practice, that means luxury that behaves like technology but feels like humanity. A good example is Voymond, a Gen-Z-founded luxury travel startup connecting UHNW travelers with curated villas and bespoke itineraries. The company’s young founders saw a need to merge efficiency with personalization. “We noticed a gap between slow, disconnected agencies that take days to create one proposal and fragmented online platforms that make you jump between ten tabs to plan a single trip,” co-founder Alexander Kerschner told me. “Our goal is to make the experience seamless — to let a client build, personalize, and book a luxury safari itinerary in seconds.”
Sontag notes that even younger clients who are just beginning to travel independently are “very savvy” — comparing everything online and knowing their credit card perks — but often need guidance on what true luxury costs. “They might have grown up staying at great hotels with their families, but don’t have those budgets yet,” she says. “Level-setting expectations from the start is key.”
For Alesia, Gen Z puts experience before cost. “Authenticity is the priority — they don’t want to do the same trip that they did at 13 with their families. They want something immersive, something with cred — something no one else has done.”
The New York Times has described Gen Z’s embrace of “treat culture”: they’re careful with money but will splurge on something — a cookie, a handbag, a getaway — to reward themselves. As West puts it, “I'll see clients splurge to stay at a Belmond or at Il Pellicano, but they book the entry-level room just to have that experience.”
That pragmatism shows up in smaller ways, too. As Sontag notes, younger clients are often the first to respond to seasonal offers or limited-time sales — not because they want a discount for its own sake, but because they want to feel savvy about how they’re spending.
That mix of aspiration and practicality is reshaping other sectors as well. As the Financial Times recently reported, cruises are seeing a surge in younger passengers — nearly one in five 25-to-34-year-olds in the U.K. took one last year — driven largely by value, convenience, and the appeal of sampling many experiences in one trip.
It’s a reminder that the next generation of luxury consumers isn’t just redefining the market — they’re already in it, and increasingly, building it.
THE HUMAN ALGORITHM
For all their digital fluency, Gen Z travelers still crave what I’d call “the human algorithm.” They expect every digital interaction to feel intuitive — but what wins their loyalty is empathy. They may start the journey online, but they measure value in how they’re treated once the real experience begins.
“My Gen Z clients love meeting my guy Hugo in Paris, who takes them around in a vintage car and shares his restaurant tips, or Mario, my boat guy in Capri,” says West. “They remember those people and go back to them year after year.”
Sontag agrees that responsiveness and personalization are non-negotiable. “Gen Z moves quickly — they have little patience,” she says. “They want a concierge who answers WhatsApp messages within a few hours, not days.”
Forward-thinking hoteliers are already taking note of this shift. “Technology will never replace the human factor — it’s there to enhance it,” says Radha Arora, President, Rosewood Hotel Group. “AI helps our teams anticipate needs so they can spend more time doing what truly sets Rosewood apart: building relationships.”
Fast and frictionless yet human is the new definition of service. Suppliers across the industry need to train their teams to understand this — and to deliver it consistently.
VALUES AND TRANSPARENCY
It’s also important to Gen Z that the brands they patronize align with their worldview. According to Altagamma/BCG, more than 70% say luxury brands reflect their values — but that resonance has to feel genuine.
“My Gen Z clients are asking questions that my clients in their 40s and 50s never ask — especially around ethical treatment of animals and carbon offsetting,” says Alesia. “They’re aware of their influence and want to feel good about where they’re staying and what they’re supporting.”
And their definition of sustainability is expansive. “They don’t just want to see recycled wood,” West told me. “They want to know that the people who work at a hotel are treated well — that they love their jobs and have been there for twenty years. That’s what makes a place feel good to stay in.” Sontag adds that visible ethics help reinforce trust: “People definitely look at what a brand stands for, what their mission is. Having that information easy to find online never hurts.”
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR ALL OF US
Whether you’re a hotelier, a tour operator, or an advisor, the takeaways are clear:
Service is still the differentiator. Invest in your people as much as your platforms.
Transparency builds trust. Gen Z can smell spin from a mile away; authenticity isn’t optional.
Cultural fluency beats legacy. They care less about how long you’ve been around than how well you understand their world.
Technology needs to catch up. As Voymond’s Kirschner puts it, “The consumer will force change through pressure and wealth transfer.” The industry must innovate just as fast as this generation expects it to.
Gen Z may interact through apps and messages, but when they travel, they want something no algorithm can replicate: to be seen, to be heard, and to be cared for. As I often tell clients, technology can create efficiency — but only people can create loyalty.
What do you think? Has your company adjusted to accommodate the needs and desires of the youngest generation of luxury travelers? Is the change in service expectations limited to Gen Z, or are they just leading the charge? Let’s keep the conversation going!