You can call it the social media effect.
Millennials and Gen Z are traveling more than ever, and 92% report using social media to plan their trips. However, they’re not necessarily swayed by high-profile influencers or sponsored content. Instead, they’re turning to a more trusted source—the social media feeds of friends and family.
It’s a shift that has turned every traveler into a potential micro-influencer. Authentic experiences and personal recommendations now hold increasingly significant weight. For hospitality marketers, the focus is on creating experiences that resonate with the average guest.
But there’s also a generational divide in social media use to consider, as highlighted by a series of Pew Research Center surveys. Younger generations engage more frequently and post in real-time, while older generations tend to be more cautious with their social media presence. Consider the 92% of young travelers who use social media to plan their trips—in that same age group, nearly 50% reported considering how a destination will look on their social media feed before booking.
Travel is no longer just about the experience itself; now, it’s also about how it can be captured.
Some hotels have adapted to this trend by catering to these travelers’ social-media-centric desires. Moxy, an international hotel chain in major cities like Manhattan and London, is known for its Instagram-friendly aesthetics. Guests are encouraged to post using specialized hashtags, and its happy hour has its own social media handle.
Other hotels, like The Standard, are crafting highly shareable experiences—think everything from pool parties to exclusive art installations and sophisticated lounges. It’s all designed to encourage guests to share their stay; other resorts, like Soneva in the Maldives (one of the most Instagrammed resorts in the world), openly encourage visitors to document and post their experiences to generate excitement.
Social media accounts dedicated to visually appealing spaces are also gaining traction. Instagram account @Opulist, with over 31,000 followers, promotes itself as a resource for finding aesthetic experiences. Its page includes reels of boutique hotels and curated hospitality carousels, including posts like “Gorgeous Hotel Pools to Book Your Next Trip Around.”
But the phenomenon isn’t limited to one platform. The popular video-sharing app TikTok has become a hotspot for hospitality recommendations, with 74% of Gen Z respondents in a Horizon Media survey reporting that they use the app as a search platform. Known for its short-form content and popular “Day in the Life” videos, the platform has become a go-to resource for travelers sharing itineraries and recommendations with their followers.
The trend has taken over the app—#TravelTiktok boasts over 10.2 million posts, while #TravelTok has 1.8 million. Together, these videos are reaching millions of viewers—and the app’s algorithm, which tailors content to the user’s interest, will continue to recommend similar travel videos once you’ve engaged.
Hotels and resorts have caught on to the trend, increasingly leveraging user-generated content (UGC) as part of their marketing strategy. By encouraging guests to create and share content with branded hashtags, they’re building engagement with guests and collecting authentic marketing material. With Gen Z’s emphasis on experiences and personal connections, UGC is a powerful way to capture their attention. Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, for instance, encourages guests to tag the resort in their photos with a call to action right in its Instagram bio.
As in so many other spaces, social media is redefining the landscape. As hotels and resorts adapt to meet the expectations of younger generations, those that prioritize creating memorable, shareable experiences will have a stronger connection with today’s travelers—both on screen and off.