Although some hotels and ships have provided youth activities for years, they’re adding student concierges and separate teen spaces to cope with the growth in family travel, according to various news reports on the trend.
When school’s out, teens may make up 20% or more of guests at a resort or on a cruise ship. Private hang-outs for kids are growing everywhere.
“It’s about relationships. No kids. No parents. It’s their own space,” said Cedric Gobilliard, Club Med’s chief executive in North America.
Some of these teenage moves:
- Teen lounges such as Royal Caribbean International’s Living Room have sprouted up for hanging out; so-called “Fuel” nightclubs are for dancing.
- Teen dinners, karaoke and soon Scratch DJ classes are being planned on its Liberty of the Seas, which debuts next month.
- Disney Cruise Line’s teen areas, called “Aloft on Disney Wonder” and the “Stack on Disney Magic,” offers big-screen TVs, video games and internet cafes.
- Holland America Line for three years has been retrofitting ships with teen lounges called the “Loft,” most linked to sun decks with wading pools and juice bars.
Report by David Wilkening
