Aspen in position to tap millennial market

Aspen and Snowmass are well-positioned to appeal to the millennial generation, but should act quickly before those customers develop loyalty to another brand, said the principal of a marketing research firm specializing in this demographic.

“Millennials want mind, body and spirit. They want it all,” Graham Button, founder of Bravo Echo, told a capacity crowd of Aspen Chamber Resort Association members and guests who convened Thursday afternoon at the Sundeck. Aspen Skiing Co. co-sponsored this annual kick-off to the winter season.

Button’s presentation, which he termed “Children of the Web: What Millennials Want,” focused on the traits and spending habits of an age group of people born roughly between 1980-1997. He also reiterated why there’s no time to lose in courting them.

Millennials’ sensibilities were shaped by the birth of the internet, 9/11 and the Great Recession. Well educated – 23 percent of millennials have a bachelor’s degree –they are also awash in student debt. Cost conscious and not fooled by insincerity, “millennials like deals and they like authenticity,” he reiterated.

By virtue of their social media savvy, they have the tools to weed out travel deals. Compulsive storytellers, with 72 percent of the age group on Facebook, millennials also use Instagram to share recommendations, reviews and criticism of travel experiences.

“They’re undercover critics. They’re less likely to complain, but they will publish,” Button said.

The rise of a new class of hotels that offer fewer services are in part a reaction to their sensibilities, he believes.


Jordan Curet
Graham Button speaks about how to understand Millennials during the ACRA and Aspen Skiing Company's annual Afternoon Blend at the Sundeck on Thursday afternoon.
“Hotels are creating a neighborhood lounge” where guests can mix with locals, he said, adding that this “mixed lobby” effect, popular with the Hampden Inn chain, is also what makes the Limelight hotel’s casual restaurant so appealing.

Millennials’ business is increasingly coveted because by 2020, they will not only comprise one-third of the U.S. population, but will supplant baby boomers as the largest single generation out there, Button said.

Yet local marketeers must must act fast because this is a group that not only appreciates a good deal, but knows how to find it.

“They have information and they have access,” he said. “In the meantime, they want to be courted by brands. They want to feel like they’re being welcomed in.”

Button said there are already more millennials in Colorado than there are baby boomers, defined as the generation born between 1945-1964. Millennials also tend to congregate in the western U.S.

“They follow the money,” Button said. He used Seattle, which he claimed has a gross domestic product of about $631 billion (and which rivals the Swiss economy), as one hotbed of millennials, Austin, Texas is the most popular city for this age group with Denver landing in fifth.

“If that’s where the younger generation is going, Aspen is dead center,” Button surmised.

SkiCo management said its track record shows they’ve been on the forefront of appealing to this market segment.

The company’s long-term investment in the X Games, support of millennial athletes like Torin Yater-Wallace and sponsorship of the Aspen/Snowmass Open plus big mountain and endurance events have placed the resort on this group’s radar, said John Rigney, vice president of sales and events.

“We have been talking to these guys for a very long time,” Rigney added.

Button suggested the time for solidifying this market share is now.

“You have to lay pipe for it in the next five years to make it viable or not,” he said.

Twitter, @Madski99