New Survey Looks at the Travel Habits of Affluent Families and Their Secrets for Getting the Most Out of Family Vacations
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Whether it is seeing the northern lights, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef or taking a trip the Galapagos Islands, when it comes to bucket list travel, affluent families are taking the kids along these days, and the majority – more than 65% — are ok with letting the kids skip school to do so, a new survey by the luxury family travel website Top Flight Family, reports.
One of the fastest growing travel market segments, affluent households spend more than $23,000 per year on family travel, usually over 4 trips, and nearly half of these families have brought their child to a 5-star hotel or resort, according to the survey.
To compile their results, Top Flight looked at the travel habits of 362 people with children under the age of 17 from 42 U.S. states earning more than $100,000 per year. The survey aimed at determining top destinations, favorite accommodation options and the upgrades that are must-haves for getting the most out of a vacation.
“Family travel is one of the fastest-growing segments within the travel market,” says Carmen Sognonvi, founder and publisher of Top Flight Family. “The insights uncovered by our survey can help families on any budget minimize hassle, maximize quality time, and have a richer travel experience.”
For instance, nearly a quarter of affluent parents (23%) said they take trips primarily to enrich their children’s education and development, and a whopping 65% admitted they are willing to let their kids miss some school in order to travel.
One Iowa mom explained the educational benefits of travel:
“When we travel together we get to do all of those fun things we never find time to do at home and learn more in the process then the countless hours of homework combined,” according to a press release by Top Flight Family regarding the survey.
It was also notable that hotels remained the top pick for luxury family vacations with nearly 60% of these families choosing this lodging option. And affluent parents weren’t afraid to bring their children to the highest-end properties: 43% of respondents said their child had stayed with them at a 5-star hotel or resort.
Vacation rentals were the second-most popular option, with 17% of survey respondents pointing to rentals from companies such as Homeaway, VRBO, onefinestay as their favorite accommodation choice.
Despite its surging popularity among travelers in general, Airbnb doesn’t hold much interest for luxury family travelers. Only 3.5% of survey respondents chose Airbnb rentals as their favorite accommodation option, ranking it behind staying with friends and family (13.5%) and booking timeshares (4.4%).
Finally, the survey noted that affluent parents are savvy about paying extra for add-ons that make the experience of traveling with children more convenient and enjoyable. For instance, some 71% of parents said the number one option worth spending more on is an upgrade from a standard hotel room to a suite or villa.
Other upgrades affluent parents said they used were Global Entry and/or TSA Pre-Check, first or business class flights and splurging to stay in a hotel or resort with a dedicated kids club.