Luxury travel marketing used to be a perfectly folded napkin: elegant, precise, and expected. Think polished brand videos, dreamy landing pages, and campaigns that moved neatly from awareness to booking like a five-course meal.

But Gen Z? They’re not here for the set menu.

This generation doesn’t reject luxury—in fact, they crave it. But how do they discover, assess, and commit to it? That part looks nothing like the playbook most of us were trained on. If you’re still relying on the classic funnel to drive bookings, you’re probably missing the mark.

Let’s talk about why.


The End of the Funnel: What It Was, and What It’s Becoming

Traditionally, marketing followed a tidy little sequence:

• Awareness
• Interest
• Intent
• Booking
• Loyalty
  

A straight line. Predictable. Contained. The assumption? That we could guide potential guest’s step-by-step, from curiosity to conversion.

But Gen Z doesn’t move down a funnel. They zigzag. Swipe. Search. Bounce. Their journey might start with a TikTok recap of someone’s Amalfi honeymoon, jump to a Reddit thread about the best resorts in Tulum, detour into your Google reviews, then land on a booking site through a WhatsApp link from a friend.

There’s no single path—just layered moments of discovery, all happening out of order but somehow still making sense to them.

If we’re being honest, it looks more like this:

TikTok > Peer Story >Instagram > Blog < YouTube > Direct Booking > DMS < Google Reviews >Reddit Thread > WhatsApp Share

The Gen Z traveler isn’t moving down a funnel. They’re moving through a web—a connected, chaotic, beautifully unpredictable digital world where they’re curating their own version of what luxury means.


How Gen Z Decides: Fast, Smart, and Multi-Source

If you’re a hotel marketer, this doesn’t mean scrapping structure altogether. It means meeting Gen Z where they actually are—not where you wish they were.

Let’s break it down:

• Discovery is distributed. Your brand isn’t the main character anymore. You’re part of a wider cast—creators, guests, peer reviews, algorithmic feeds.
• Trust is fragmented. They believe peers and creators more than polished brand ads. Authenticity trumps perfection.
• Decisions are impulsive and informed. Yes, they’ll book on a whim—but not without doing the homework. The research just happens at lightning speed.

Luxury is contextual. For Gen Z, luxury isn’t about opulence. It’s about personalization, purpose, and access—being part of something special.


What’s Driving Their Behavior?

In a 2024 Expedia Group study, 74% of Gen Z travelers said they rely on social media for trip inspiration. And 62% use more than four sources before they book. So yes—they’re discovering in one place, validating in another, and converting somewhere else entirely. At BCV, we have seen Gen Z engage most with content that:

- Speaks like a real person, not a brand robot

- Offers something in return (think local recs, exclusive perks, or community access)

- Fits the platform it's on—because what works on Instagram will flop on TikTok if you’re not paying attention.


A More Adaptive Strategy for the Gen Z Mindset

So, how do you show up in this nonlinear, platform-jumping world without chasing every trend? Start here:

1. Map your content to moments.
Not everything needs to be a campaign. Identify where Gen Z travelers pause—before, during, and after their stay—and create content that belongs in that moment.

2. Rethink your digital storefronts.
Your Instagram grid, Google reviews, chatbot, even your in-room digital guide—they all shape perception. Don’t underestimate what a Story Highlight or GMB listing can do.

3. Embrace micro-influence.
The big-name influencers still matter, sure. But Gen Z loves creators who feel niche, real, and community-led. It’s less about reach, more about resonance.

4. Let the guest speak.
Encourage user-generated content. That quick room tour, the sunset dinner, the “this-is-my-view-right-now” reel—it’s more trustworthy than anything you can script.

5. Test, adapt, repeat.
You don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be responsive. Use performance data to iterate. What worked last quarter might not land this one.

Rethink the Funnel

Gen Z isn’t ignoring you. They’re just navigating the world differently—and faster.

They want luxury, but they want it to feel personal. They want discovery, but on their terms. And they want to trust you—but only after they trust the people talking about you.

So no, the funnel isn’t broken.

It just doesn’t belong in a Gen Z world.

Instead, think of your strategy as a constellation of connected moments—designed to show up in the right place, at the right time, in the right way.

And if you get that right? You’re not just earning a booking. You’re earning relevance.