Millennials Name Top Travel Brands (Hint: J.W. Leads Hotels)

Nine of the top 10 travel brands among Millennial travelers are hotel brands, with J.W. Marriott having the highest brand equity rating among all travel brands, according to The Harris Poll’s 29th annual EquiTrend Study. J.W. Marriott narrowly beat out Marriott Hotels and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and American Airlines were named tops in their categories by Millennial travelers. American secured its first Full Service Airline Brand of the Year honor, jumping seven equity points with this generation, beating out previous Full Service Airline winners Delta Airlines and Alaska/Horizon Airlines. Harris believes that American won mostly due to its market penetration following its merger with USAir.

 

Royal Caribbean, which held the top Cruise Line Brand of the Year spot in 2012 and 2015, bested Holland America Cruise Line and Princess Cruises.

 

Among value airlines, Southwest won for the sixth consecutive year.

 

The EquiTrend Brand Equity Index considers familiarity with a brand, perceived quality and purchase consideration for that brand. More than 100,000 U.S. consumers assessed 100 travel brands this year.