Hotel chains warms to the cool factor to woo millennials

Major hotel chains known for being reliable, consistent and anything but edgy are trying to appeal to the younger traveler, spending millions of dollars on elaborate marketing campaigns that draw heavily on pop culture and social media.

Holiday Inn Express recently launched the “Smart Thinking” campaign, which will invite travelers to offer humorous advice on any topic through Vine and YouTube videos, Instagram photos and tweets. And, Marriott has started the “Travel Brilliantly” campaign, which will include new commercials that will appear on mobile devices, on websites such as Hulu and Mashable and during shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”