Booking on Grandma’s Budget: How Grandparents Are Driving Multi-Gen and Skip-Gen Travel

When TMR‘s Sarah Milner stayed in the new, luxurious Eventide penthouse suite in Beaches Negril, one thing was immediately clear: these accommodations weren’t designed for a family of four. Rather, it was the perfect setup for a grandparent-funded multi-generation trip.

Multi-generation (grandparents, parents, and children) and skip-generation (grandparents and children) travel is becoming an increasingly significant trend within the travel sphere. Coming out of COVID-19, consumers were looking to spend more time with family and more money on bucket-list travel experiences. Unsurprisingly, many turned to multi-generation travel. 

What is surprising, however, is that this interest didn’t diminish with time like other pandemic-era interests (sourdough bread, Tiger King, etc.). Rather, the multi-gen and skip-gen travel trend continues to gain momentum, largely thanks to the grandparents who either fully or partially pay for the trip. 

“I think families are putting more value into making memories outside of day-to-day life, knowing that our world is unpredictable, and we don’t know when we’ll get more time,” said Andrea Heagney​​​​, a leisure travel advisor with Direct Travel.

“Travel is a great way for a reunion that no one needs to host.”

The Rise of Grandparent-funded Multi-Gen Travel

TMR’s Multi-Generation Cruise Travel Outlook, 2022 showed that almost 9 in 10 advisors in the U.S. and Canada have sold multi-generation trips, with 43% of respondents saying grandparents usually paid for the trip—versus 30% who said it’s usually a combination of grandparents and parents footing the bill.

The following year, the Family Travel Association’s annual US Family Travel Survey found that 50% of grandparents pay for multi-generational family trips, and 54% plan and organize the trips. Only 10% of grandparent respondents said they don’t help plan the trip, suggesting grandparents are a driving force behind these trips. 

The same survey also identified skip-gen as a less common, but still relevant, trend. In the 2023 survey, 20% of grandparents said they had taken their grandchildren on a trip sans parents, and 25% said they planned to do a skip-gen trip in the next three years.

More recently, TMR’s Distribution Outlook, 2025, showed that family and multi-generation travel is the second-leading travel category sold by U.S. and Canadian travel advisors, increasing from 39% to 66%. While this is part of a broader shift away from specialization—i.e. more advisors selling more categories—it also demonstrates the market potential for selling multi-gen travel.

Michelle Bork, the vice president of Travelmation, told TMR that she’s seen about a 20% increase in multi-gen bookings after the pandemic. As a part of Travelmation, Bork is fairly familiar with this niche.

“I think the biggest shift is grandparents paying for everything,” said Bork. “It used to be Mom and Dad with the kids [and] grandparents travelling by themselves. Now, I see grandparents [say], ‘no, we got this.’ It’s just getting the whole family together. And financially, they can do it.”

Jakki Prince, the owner of Prince Adventures Travel in Ontario, has also seen an increase in her grandparent-funded travel.

“I’ve seen an increase since 2022 in multi-generational travel. Driven by grandparents offering to pay for the family vacation time—creating a big incentive, I believe,” she said.

How The Industry Is Meeting Demand for Multi-Gen & Skip-Gen

The rise of grandparent-funded trips is reflected on the supplier side as well. In a survey conducted by Beaches Resorts of North Americans aged 25 to 45, 50% said they would prefer a multi-gen vacation over a vacation with just the kids, and 76% view travel as the ultimate way to make memories as an extended family.

The luxury all-inclusive specialist has embraced the trend fully: Beaches Resorts are expanding with new suites designed for multi-generation travel, including at the upcoming Beaches Runaway Bay Resort in Jamaica.

For example, Beaches Negril added the Eventide Penthouse Suites in 2023 (pictured above), which feature three- and four-bedroom layouts that are perfect for large family bookings. The large master bedroom and bathroom are on one side, separated from the other bedrooms by a shared common space big enough for groups of six or more. It’s an ideal setup for grandparents who want to be near the grandkids but not necessarily with them all the time—and if Grandma’s paying, it’s only fair she gets the nicer accommodations.

“When Grandma and Grandpa are paying, they don’t want to do budget,” explained Bork. “I’ll give you a cruise, for example. It’ll be grandparents, parents, and kids—maybe three rooms. The grandparents will get the mini-suite or the suite category, and the kids and parents will be in a balcony or oceanfront.”

In addition to Beaches, the advisors TMR spoke to said they often book other sun-and-sand resorts like Iberostar and Dreams for family multi-gen trips.

“RIU is good for connecting rooms, and Princess has family sections and lots of amenities for kids,” said Heagney.

Jacki Marks, global head of trade brands at ALG Vacations, told TMR that all-inclusive resorts are popular for multi-gen group bookings because of their convenience:

“They offer something for everyone. Younger generations can enjoy waterparks, kids’ clubs, and teen activities, while the adults can indulge in the resort’s high-end culinary offerings, beverage programs, nightly entertainment, spas and more adult-only areas—so each generation can enjoy their ideal vacation.”

Marks told TMR that the all-inclusive pricing is appealing when one party is covering the total cost of a group trip. And with options that combine the best of both worlds—adults-only and family—groups traveling with young children don’t have to pick and choose.

“It used to be that families had to choose a family-friendly resort or an adults-only resort, but now there are many resort options that combine the two travel styles, such as Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts or Riu Hotels & Resorts,” said Marks. “Another popular approach for groups is booking rooms at connecting resorts like Dreams & Secrets Playa Mujeres, which offers the chance to enjoy family-friendly activities at Dreams side while also offering an adults-only space for the elder generations to either stay or retreat to at Secrets.”

To help make group booking as easy as possible, ALG Vacations has invested in its travel advisor tool GroupEase.

“This past year, we launched customizable event links, making it even easier for travel advisors to coordinate family gatherings, from a household group to a large family reunion. These links allow each family member to book within a shared system, accommodating different travel dates and preferences while keeping the group connected,” said Marks.

Grandparents Gifting Travel: A More Meaningful Birthday or Holiday Present

And it’s not just resorts: luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is also meeting the multi-gen demand. At a press conference on A&K’s new winter holiday itineraries, Vice President of Sales Marett Taylor said the company is leaning into the trend with land-based and expedition itineraries timed to the winter school break schedule.

“For winter travel in particular, multi-generation and skip-gen travel is booming,” said Taylor. “Families are increasingly using the holidays as an anchor for multi-gen travel, often to destinations like Egypt or Antarctica.”

Stefanie Schmudde, senior vice president of global product strategy at A&K, made similar statements: “We’ve definitely seen a boom in multi-generation travel, and the holidays are the perfect opportunity for families to get away and to experience the world versus staying home.”

Cruises are another popular option for multi-gen and skip-gen travel, both because of the varied activities onboard and because of the destinations. Bork told TMR her most popular cruise lines for multi-gen and skip-gen bookings are Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Line.

“They’ve got the fun water parks for the kids, but they might have the signature dining, Broadway-style shows, or more of an upscale experience for grandparents,” she explained. “All the generations get to have fun.”

In fact, Prince told TMR her biggest multi-gen increase has been in the cruise category. “I’ve seen multi-generational travel increase most drastically in the space of cruise bookings, with Alaska and the Caribbean being the most popular destination choices,” she said.

“Alaskan cruises with three generations are a great idea to help educate children and endear them to the natural world,” added Prince. “Alaska is a great choice as grandparents may be looking for soft adventures, while the entire family can reconvene at meal times and evenings, despite perhaps doing separate daytime activities to suit their activity level and interest.”

Both ALGV and A&K pointed to grandparents gifting trips to their family as a rising trend, as the older generation looks for more meaningful and special holiday and birthday gestures.

“We’ve seen a trend of parents and grandparents actually gifting vacations and experiences to their families versus the traditional ‘presents under the tree’ approach [the Christmas],” said Schmudde. 

“A great idea for grandparents looking to celebrate milestones or holidays is to gift a trip instead of traditional presents, which is a fantastic way to create lasting family memories,” said Marks. “A multi-gen trip allows everyone to reconnect, while skip-gen travel gives grandparents and grandkids the chance to bond in a meaningful way without the parents.”

Ultimately, the grandparent-funded multi-gen trend reflects an aging population that has resources, and wants to spend those resources on their loved ones.

“I’ll hear grandparents jokingly say, ‘well, I’m not going to take it with me, so we might as well spend it here,'” said Bork. “Maybe one of the grandparents have passed, so the remaining grandparent knows time is precious. And so they are like, ‘we’re going to make this happen because we just want to have the family together.'”