Cafeteria, the largest insights platform for Gen Z and Alpha, is revealing what Gen Next actually wants from travel, hotels and airlines in 2026. For Cafeteria’s first Next Gen Spenders: Travel Edition, more than 900 Gen Z users spent 197 hours talking about what travel looks like in 2026.
Mark Silverstein, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer, says, “For Gen Z, making memories is the core travel luxury. In order to spend more on experiences – the meal, the concert, the moment – they’ll find the cheapest flight or share a hotel room.”
He continues, “They also see time as a key element of the travel equation. They want to arrive early at their destination and will spend on an Uber to get to their hotel faster. They choose hotels using Google Maps to ensure they are close to the experiences and restaurants they love to splurge on.”
With more than 1 million insights produced across thousands of Gen Z and Alpha users, Cafeteria enables top brands and agencies to get answers in real time.
“Our clients are listening to these young consumers directly. The brands who listen begin to truly understand their customer, earning cultural relevance — and that’s what drives brand desire and real business performance. That’s exactly what almost 200 hours of Gen Next responses on Cafeteria delivers,” Silverstein says.
Check out the highlights from Cafeteria’s report below, and view the full report with voice notes and audio trailer here. https://www.teamcafeteria.com/news/next-gen-travel
The Obligatory 20s Trip: Japan
20-somethings can’t get enough of Japan’s other-worldy culture. They cite scenery, culture, food, affordability, and niche interests like JDM cars.
“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.” [c] female / 19 / Fort Myers, FL
Gen Z is Bypassing Third-Party Booking Sites
TikTok is seen as a key source for inspiration and booking advice, entering the booking funnel as a discovery layer for deals. 1 in 4 Gen Z skip the middleman, bypassing Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and third-party platforms and opting, instead, to book directly on airline and hotel websites and apps. Those using OTA’s prefer Expedia.
Still on the Family Plan
Gen Z travel booking is a slow handoff from parents to independence.
14-17: The Backseat Travelers – 65% parent-booked: 18% self-booked with their first exposure to airline + hotel family loyalty programs
18-21: The Co-Pilots – 42% self-booked: 40% parent-booked (split). These are active bookers without their own credit cards.
22+: The Drivers – 48% self-booked: 29% parent-booked. Partners start to enter the picture.
Coach Flights, Michelin Nights
The flight is a means. The food and experiences are the point. Gen Z who self-book, strategically save on flights in order to splurge on experiences and food.
Flights = #1 savings target
Hotels = split between luxury and budget
Food + Experiences = top spending categories
“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.” [c] female / 20 / Eureka, MO
Uber On Arrival
Luggage + fatigue = Uber wins at arrival. But it’s the subway after that.
26% of 18+ self-bookers look to save by taking public transit during the trip. However, 73% of those savers take Uber/Lyft from the airport. The “savings” happens during the trip, not at arrival (where luggage + fatigue make Uber the default).
Cruises Make Gen Z Nervous
Gen Z is split on cruises – the interest is there, but many are stuck between the allure of the experience and the anxiety of a Titanic-level catastrophe.
“Fun” is the most named word to describe cruises (30%), but rarely stands alone – it’s almost always paired with fears or concerns of seasickness. Females feel this tension most acutely: they account for 72% of fear-related responses but also lead positive sentiment.
“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.” [c] female / 20 / Chicago, IL
Favorite Airlines
Gen Z favors Delta, JetBlue and United.
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)
“delta, I believe it has the most value for the money and you get a very premium experience on even the most basic ticket”[c] non-binary / 18 / New York, NY
Google Maps is the New Hotel Search
Gen Z scouts hotels like real estate. They use Google Maps to scan hotels based on location and reviews before doing further research.
What they look for when booking:
Location
Cleanliness
Views & windows
“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” [c] male / 21 / Bronx, NY
Flight Perks + Priorities
Perks they care about: 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.
Kindness Makes the Group Chat
Efficiency is expected. But warmth is what Gen Z remembers most from travel staff and experiences.
When asked about their last great customer service experience, friendly staff was named 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).