Hotels Cater to Travelers Over 50 With New Targeted Marketing

Skift Take

For too long, the golden rule in travel marketing has been to shy away from guests in their golden years. It’s time to put age before beauty in travel marketing and reprioritize accuracy over the aspirational.

Carley Thornell, Skift

The brawny, bearded and tattooed man in Extended Stay America’s ad titled Summer Adventure Awaits looks at first glance like a hipster beach boy. But give it a second look, and his crow’s feet reveal a man eligible for Medicare who’s eager to catch the next wave instead of grabbing a walker.

Extended Stay America isn’t the only hotel brand seeking to tap into the huge market of mature travelers, with 67 percent of Americans age 50 or older saying they had made travel plans for 2022. Courting that that large and lucrative demographic represents an opportunity for a sea change for marketers, who have typically written off mature consumers as fixed in their travel habits and brand preferences.

So a few bold brands are flipping the conventional script of travel advertising, and featuring more than just young couples and families. Here’s how three brands are shining a spotlight on guests over age 50.

Charlestowne Hotels

Each of Charlestowne Hotels’ properties employs a different strategy to attract older guests. The HarbourView Inn in Charleston, South Carolina…