7 travel complaints Boomers make constantly that younger generations have learned to avoid

Working in luxury hospitality, I heard the same complaints from Boomer guests over and over.

Not isolated incidents. Patterns. Specific frustrations that came up so consistently they became predictable based on the guest's age.

Meanwhile, younger travelers navigating the same airports, hotels, and destinations somehow avoided most of these problems entirely. Not because they were luckier. Because they'd adapted to how travel actually works now instead of expecting it to work how it used to.

The gap wasn't about money or experience. Some of these Boomer travelers had been everywhere. They just refused to update their approach, then complained when their outdated methods created problems.

After years listening to these complaints and watching younger travelers avoid them, I've identified seven grievances that are almost entirely self-inflicted through refusing to adapt.

Here's what Boomers complain about constantly that younger generations simply don't deal with.

1) "Everything requires an app now"

This is the most common complaint and the easiest to avoid.

Boomers show up to hotels, restaurants, airports expecting things to work the way they did in 2005. Paper tickets, human check-in, physical menus, calling to make reservations. Then they're frustrated when everything's moved to apps and digital systems.

Younger travelers downloaded the apps before they left home. They checked in online. They have their boarding passes on their phones. They made reservations through apps weeks ago. They adapted to how systems work now instead of demanding systems accommodate how things used to work.

During my Bangkok years, I watched this divide constantly. Older expats would complain about needing apps for everything while younger travelers seamlessly navigated the same systems because they'd learned the tools.

The technology isn't that complicated. Boomers just refuse to learn it, then act like they're being victimized when their refusal creates friction.

2) "No one answers the phone anymore"

Boomers want to call hotels, restaurants, airlines and speak to humans immediately.

When they can't, or when they're directed to websites or chatbots, they interpret this as declining service rather than changed systems. They'll spend 20 minutes complaining about not reaching a person instead of spending 5 minutes solving their issue online.

Younger travelers expect digital-first service. They look up information on websites, use chat functions, send emails. They only call as a last resort because they understand phone service is inefficient for routine questions.

Working in hospitality, I'd watch Boomer guests demand to speak to managers about things they could have handled themselves in the app. The entitlement to human attention for problems that didn't require it was constant.

The complaint isn't about service quality declining. It's about refusing to use self-service tools that exist specifically to make things easier and faster.

3) "The hotel room doesn't have [thing from 1985]"

Boomers expect hotel rooms to have physical phone books, alarm clocks, paper directories, DVDs players, items that smartphones replaced years ago.

When these things aren't there, they complain about hotels cutting corners. Not recognizing that younger guests don't want any of that stuff cluttering their rooms because their phones do everything better.

I've heard complaints about missing notepads, lack of physical keys, no in-room safes big enough for laptops. Meanwhile younger guests appreciate the minimalism because they're not carrying items that need Victorian-era hotel amenities.

Hotels evolved because the market changed. Younger travelers don't need or want the setup Boomers remember. Complaining about it won't bring it back.

4) "Everything is so expensive now"

This complaint is half legitimate, half refusal to adapt pricing strategies.

Yes, travel costs have increased. But younger travelers deal with it by booking further in advance, using comparison tools, taking advantage of deals and off-peak pricing. They've learned to game the system.

Boomers often book last minute, refuse to use comparison sites, won't fly budget airlines, and won't travel during off-season. Then they're shocked that their inflexible approach costs more.

During my years in hospitality, I'd watch Boomer guests complain about prices while refusing every money-saving alternative. Want to book direct? More expensive. Want to travel peak season? Maximum prices. Won't use apps to find deals? Paying full price.

Younger travelers grew up knowing you have to be strategic about costs. They don't expect fair pricing just because they showed up. They work the system.

5) "People don't dress nicely for travel anymore"

Boomers complain constantly about casual dress on planes and in hotels.

They want everyone in business casual minimum, ideally dressed like airline travel in the 1960s. They see comfort clothing as decline in standards and personal pride.

Younger travelers wear athleisure and don't care what anyone thinks. They're optimizing for comfort during hours of sitting in uncomfortable seats. They're not performing sophistication for strangers.

I'd watch Boomer guests judge other travelers' clothing at resort restaurants while their own adult children were dressed exactly like the people they were criticizing. The generational divide was obvious.

The complaint reveals values about presentation and formality that younger generations simply don't share. It's not that they don't know how to dress up. They just don't think travel requires it.

6) "The food isn't authentic anymore"

Boomers visit places they went 20 or 30 years ago and complain everything's changed.

The restaurant they loved is gone. The authentic street food is now tourist-friendly and sanitized. The local culture has been commercialized. They want the place frozen in time from when they first visited.

Younger travelers don't have this problem because they're experiencing places for the first time. They're not comparing current reality to some idealized past. They're just engaging with what's actually there.

Living in Bangkok, I'd hear older expats complain constantly about how Thailand had changed. Meanwhile younger travelers were having incredible experiences with current Bangkok, not mourning some version that existed before they arrived.

Places evolve. Tourism changes them. Complaining about it doesn't help. Younger travelers accept this and find authentic experiences within current reality instead of demanding the past resurrect itself.

7) "Customer service isn't what it used to be"

This is code for "staff don't defer to me the way they used to."

Boomers expect a level of personal service and attention that most travel businesses simply don't provide anymore except at the highest price points. They interpret efficiency as rudeness and self-service as neglect.

Younger travelers have lower service expectations because they grew up with self-service everything. They don't need staff hovering. They're fine solving small problems themselves. They only need help with actual issues.

Working in hospitality, the service complaints from Boomers were constant and often unreasonable. Wanting staff to carry luggage up one floor. Expecting someone to personally show them how to use the TV. Demanding help with things any functional adult can figure out.

Service hasn't declined. Expectations changed. Younger travelers adapted theirs. Boomers didn't, then complain about the gap between what they expect and what's actually offered at their price point.

The real issue

These seven complaints share a root cause. They're all about refusing to adapt to how travel works now, then blaming external factors for the friction that refusal creates.

Travel has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Digital tools replaced analog systems. Self-service became standard. Casual norms replaced formal ones. Places evolved with tourism. Service models shifted to efficiency over attention.

Younger travelers adapted to all of this because they had to. Many of them only know travel in its current form. They learned the tools, adjusted expectations, and developed strategies that work with current systems.

Boomers could do the same. Nothing about age prevents learning apps, booking strategically, accepting that places change, or adjusting service expectations. But many refuse, preferring to complain about how things aren't like they used to be.

The complaints aren't about legitimate problems. They're about nostalgia for a travel experience that doesn't exist anymore and refusing to engage with what replaced it.

You can hear this refusal in the phrasing. "Everything requires an app now" said like it's an imposition rather than a convenience. "No one answers the phone" like that's inherently worse than instant chat support. "Everything is so expensive" without any attempt to use tools that manage costs.

Younger generations learned to avoid these complaints not by having it easier, but by approaching travel as it actually is rather than how they wish it was. That's the real difference.