Wednesday Buzz: How Millennials Are Changing Business Travel

As millennials make up a more and more of the workforce, this digitally obsessed demographic is shifting business travel trends.

Condé Nast Traveler recently took a look at the habits, attitudes, and generational characteristics of the new crop of business travelers  (opens in a new tab). For one thing, they love the sharing economy: Younger travelers prefer to use ride-booking apps like Lyft and Uber as opposed to taxis or rental cars. And millennials often prefer Airbnb-like accommodations, which tend to have more of a local feel.

Millennials are feeling the effects of business travel on their home lives. A recent MMGY Global study noted that 61 percent of young adults surveyed said travel hurts their family lives, higher than for gen Xers and baby boomers. But that often doesn’t hold them back from hitting the road.

On trips, it’s important that they have time to explore and schedule a little fun. Companies are feeling new pressure from this generation to make concessions for “bleisure travel.”

A Women’s Day Study Worth Reflecting On

Research: If a group includes more women, its collective intelligence rises. #InternationalWomensDay  (opens in a new tab) https://t.co/4jO8i7qz23  (opens in a new tab)

— Harvard Business Review (@HarvardBiz) March 8, 2017  (opens in a new tab)

Team meetings are huge part of association life. On International Women’s Day, let’s pause to remember an important 2011 study from the Harvard Business Review  (opens in a new tab) showing that the more women there are in a group, the higher its collective intelligence.

“Part of that finding can be explained by differences in social sensitivity, which we found is also important to group performance,” said Professor Anita Wooley, one of the study’s authors. “Many studies have shown that women tend to score higher on tests of social sensitivity than men do.”

How can this knowledge be applied in associations? One way is to stop hosting all-male panels at your events.

“In a nutshell, having women—and the diverse range of opinions, views, and experiences they bring—on a panel encourages holistic discussions, which are more robust and have more value,” writes blogger Pranav Sethaputra on Less Conversation and More Action  (opens in a new tab).

Other Links of Note

Infographic of the day. Small Business Trends illustrates the ways  (opens in a new tab) different generations use social media.

Be a host with the most. Amp up your online events with these helpful tips from Grit Marketing  (opens in a new tab).

Does your email newsletter have a clear purpose? Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog  (opens in a new tab) says you should clearly define the action you want readers to take after they read your newsletter.

(iStock/Thinkstock)