The Innkeeping Blog

While there is no universally accepted definition of “Generation X,” most writers on the subject argee Gen Xers were born between the early 1960s up until about 1980.  That means some Gen X folks are nearly 50 years old now!  I’ve always assumed Gen X meant the youth, the kids, the “new generation.”  I’m mentioning this, because most innkeepers I encounter are baby boomers (born between 1946 and the early 1960s).  Most innkeepers like to craft their B&Bs in their own image – they decorate according to their tastes and they deliver an experience that they believe would be enjoyable.  After all, the baby boomer generation likely makes up a solid portion of our industry’s customer base.  Makes sense.  But, times are a-changing.  While the baby boomer generation still trumps Gen X with regard to size and wealth, the Gen X crowd should no longer be seen as a “niche” market.  This is your burgeoning customer base now!

When I speak at B&B conferences around the continent, I try driving home the point about our changing customer base by asking, “How many of you are baby boomers?”  Lots of hands go up.  Then I ask, “How many of you have tastes different than your children?”  All the hands stay up, and there is much chuckling.  It’s a rhetorical question, of course.  And my point is that – if you’re interested in staying successful and relevant in the not-to-distant future – you should alter your business to accommodate the needs, wants and tastes of the rising customer base.  I have a strange feeling that when the iPod docking station phenomenon hit the lodging industry, that somehow a lot of people thought that was all it took to please the Gen X and “younger” generation.

I contend that innkeepers need to pay attention to the feedback of your Gen X customers more than all others.  Don’t dismiss the needs of baby boomers by any means, because they are still your bread and butter.  I think you’ve done a good job taking care of them.  Look to the guests now in their late 30s and 40s.  Get their candid feedback. Why not consider hosting a mid-week “focus group” in your down season, where you invite some of your Gen X friends to stay the night and give you honest feedback about your inn?  Can you handle unvarnished criticism?  If you truly want to keep improving your business performance, you should do something like this.  I think if you alter your business to accommodate the likes and desires of Gen X, you’ll still keep your baby boomers satisfied.  But if you don’t make any changes to your B&B, because you have enough baby boomers telling you they love your place, then you’re probably going to miss the boat.

Onward and upward in 2010!