Six in ten travelers now say they’re more likely to book an all-inclusive resort than they were five years ago, according to new research commissioned by Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection and reported by Skift. The survey of 2,206 travelers across the U.S. and Canada, conducted in December 2025, found that younger travelers are driving much of that shift: 42 percent of Gen Z respondents stayed at an all-inclusive resort in the past year, compared with 33 percent of Millennials. Only a small fraction of either generation says it has never considered the format at all.
The Old Reputation All-Inclusives Are Shedding
For a long stretch, all-inclusive resorts carried a specific reputation in American travel circles: fine for a first honeymoon or a low-effort spring break, but not what a serious traveler booked when they wanted control over where they ate or how their week unfolded. That framing is losing its grip. The Skift research, drawn from a survey Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection commissioned last December, found that a full 60 percent of respondents are now more likely to choose an all-inclusive stay than they were in 2020, a shift large enough that it’s showing up in how major hotel groups build out their portfolios rather than staying confined to anecdotal chatter among travel agents.
What’s Actually Driving the Shift
Some of this comes down to simple fatigue. Planning a trip that involves comparing restaurant menus, negotiating excursion prices in a foreign currency, and budgeting for a dozen small purchases a day has never been most people’s idea of relaxation, and post-pandemic travelers seem less willing to treat that kind of planning as part of the vacation itself. All-inclusive pricing folds meals, drinks, activities and often gratuities into one upfront number, removing the daily math and the friction of haggling that used to define trips to resort destinations. Forbes reported that Hyatt’s all-inclusive brands posted particularly strong second-quarter 2025 results, part of the reason major chains have kept expanding in the category instead of treating it as a niche product line.
The Value Math Younger Travelers Are Doing
The generational split in the Skift data is where the story gets specific. Seventy-five percent of Millennials and 68 percent of Gen Z respondents agreed that all-inclusive resorts deliver better value than piecing together a vacation on their own, both well above the overall survey average of 66 percent. Younger travelers, many of whom came of age splitting trip costs with roommates or a partner on a tight budget, appear to be treating the flat-rate model less as a compromise and more as the smarter version of the math — a way to know the real cost of a week away before ever boarding a flight, instead of discovering it in a stack of receipts afterward.
Where the Money Still Divides Generations
That doesn’t mean every traveler has made the switch. Gen Z respondents who say they’ve never considered an all-inclusive stay sit at just 7 percent, and the Millennial figure is barely higher at 9 percent, both small enough to suggest the resistance that used to define this segment has largely eroded rather than simply softened. Older travelers in the same survey were less enthusiastic, which tracks with a generation that came up during an era when all-inclusive resorts were more heavily associated with budget chains than with the higher-end brands now entering the space. Hyatt isn’t alone in reading the shift this way; the push into all-inclusive travel from full-service luxury groups over the past few years suggests hotel companies are betting this preference holds rather than fades once younger travelers start spending more.
What This Means for How You Book Your Next Trip
The shift also shows up in what counts as an all-inclusive resort in the first place. A decade ago the category was dominated by a handful of Caribbean and Mexican chains built around buffet lines and beach chairs. The brands expanding fastest into the space now include full-service luxury groups layering in à la carte fine dining, spa credits and adults-only wings, which is part of why the value comparison in the Skift survey holds up even against travelers who could easily afford to plan an itinerary on their own. For someone weighing a 2026 trip, the practical question has quietly changed from whether all-inclusive is worth it to which all-inclusive fits the kind of trip actually wanted, since the category itself now spans everything from budget-friendly family resorts to properties competing directly with five-star hotels on service and design.
None of this means the traditional hotel stay is disappearing, and plenty of travelers will still want the flexibility of choosing a new restaurant every night of a trip. But the resorts that used to get treated as the easy, slightly apologetic choice are increasingly the ones travelers are naming first when someone asks where they’d actually want to go.
