There's both good news and bad news for the hotel industry when it comes to family travel heading into the new year.
The good news is families still intend to travel and spend money, according to the latest iteration of the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality's 2025 U.S. Family Travel Survey. The bad news is they're definitely looking to be more cost-conscious, and the hospitality industry could be doing a better job meeting them where they're at.
During the latest episode of the CoStar News Hotels podcast, NYU instructor and survey author Anna Abelson discussed how affordability is ranked as the biggest obstacle for 73% of parents surveyed.
"Families are trying to be more creative," she said. "So what they're trying to do, they're trying to maybe identify airlines that are not charging extra fees for sitting together or maybe luggage or maybe looking for special discounts to go to any amusement parks. ... Cooking maybe in the hotel versus going out."
The survey — which was done in conjunction with the Family Travel Association — also highlighted how 13% of families reported having children with special needs but graded the hotel industry poorly on inclusivity. Those families collectively rated the hotel business a C-.
"Some of the takeaways were they indicated that [travel companies] should consider better staff training [focusing on] understanding the needs of neurodivergent kids," she said. "So if we're talking about all-inclusive [resorts], we're talking about kids clubs having staff that actually is trained to deal with kids that might require different redirection or maybe different attention and then more sensory-friendly options and also ensuring accessibility facilities."
The good news for hoteliers largely ties back to a strong intent to travel for families, with 92% of parents saying they plan to travel with their children in the next year — marking the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average travel spending hit $8,052 in 2024, a 20% increase over 2023, and 39% of parents plan to increase their spend going forward with another 42% expecting to spend at the same level.
Other survey highlights include:
- Children have a growing influence on travel destinations with 61% of parents saying they involve their kids in trip planning.
- Top destinations include beaches, visits to see family and friends, theme parks, and national or state parks.
- A total of 71% of respondents have taken trips with three or more generations of their family together in the past three years.
For more from the podcast interview, listen to the podcast embedded above with NYU's Anna Abelson or dive in to the full survey for more details results.