Gen Ys whinge to win an upgrade

Gen Ys whinge to win an upgrade

One in five Gen Y Kiwis complain in order to score an upgrade on a flight or hotel room

Auckland, 25 May 2010 – New research from Expedia.co.nzTM, operated by Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest online travel company, has found that Generation Y Kiwis are most likely to complain in order to land themselves a free upgrade on a flight or in a hotel.

The survey*, conducted among 500 New Zealanders, revealed that almost a fifth (18 per cent) of New Zealanders aged between 18-24 were willing to complain about nearby guests/passengers, the food, or quality of service to score a flight or hotel upgrade, double the national average of 9 per cent.

As part of their bag of tricks, two per cent of Gen Ys also admit to posing as business travellers to secure a free upgrade.

Not all New Zealanders are in favour of Gen Ys’ cheeky travel tactics. According to the Expedia poll, most opt for a more conservative approach and ‘up-star’ their travels of their own accord, taking advantage of the many great hotel deals on offer to book a class of hotel that would normally be out of their budget. Just over a third of all Kiwis (34 per cent) say they book a hotel with the highest star rating their budget will allow, compared to only 13 per cent who pocket the savings and stick to their usual standard of hotel.

The Expedia.co.nz survey also found that Kiwi men are the chief ‘up-starrers’ when travelling with their partners. More than one in ten (11%) of men admit they would ‘up-star’ in order to impress or spoil their partner, while just one in twenty women will spend that little bit extra to indulge their sweetheart. A further 47% of Kiwi males were willing to ‘up-star’ to ensure there was a better pool and spa compared to just 37% of women.

Louise Crompton, marketing manager of Expedia.co.nz, said, “‘Up-starring’ is a great option for travellers looking to treat themselves whilst on holiday. Nowadays, with so many hotel deals on offer and airlines continuing to discount fares, you can take the savings and ‘up-star’ to a higher class hotel for the same price as an undiscounted lower-star hotel.”

“Spending just a little time researching and considering your options, and using Expedia’s dynamic packaging technology and other easy-to-use online tools like our Deal Hunter can provide travellers excellent value for money for a little more luxury. With dynamic packaging you can enjoy the benefits of ‘up-starring’ by mixing and matching various airline and hotel options for even greater savings”, said Ms Crompton.

ENDS

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