Hotels.com recently conducted a hotel amenities survey, asking travellers to vote on what were the top hotel facilities they look for prior to making a booking. Without doubt, free Wi-Fi is a must when choosing a hotel room and that this facility overwhelmingly topped the polls.
- 36% of travellers reported that free Wi-Fi is a “must” when searching for somewhere to stay
- 33% reported it is the simple amenity they want to see more in hotels
- 31% hoped it would become a standard in all hotels in 2012
“Given the explosion of mobile use in the past few years, it is no surprise that travellers are requiring free and fast Wi-Fi,” said Taylor L. Cole, APR, director of public relations and social media for hotels.com. “Many guests never travel without their tablets, smartphones and laptops. It’s as intuitive as packing a toothbrush. Guests use these items in their rooms to plan activities for the next day. We are also seeing an uptake in mobile bookings the day of a stay. Guests are creating their trips while on-the-go via mobile apps, which feature exclusive mobile deals – it is only natural that they’d want to stay connected while in their hotel rooms.”
- 23 % of guests stated their favourite modern in-room amenity was the use of iPads for guest services, local information and personal use. This ranked above air purifiers/humidifiers, high-end coffee makers, iPod dock, massage chairs, video game systems, universal remote rooms and workout equipment/DVDs.
Second to technology, guests are most pleased when their favorite food and beverages are provided during their hotel stay.
- 45 % reported that their favourite new amenities are: happy hours, wine tastings or any other time with free food and drinks
- 31 % of travellers expressed their wish to see more complimentary bottled water in their hotel rooms
Despite some guests stealing linens/towels (14%) or magazine/books (12%) from hotel rooms, over 66% of hotel guests have never stolen an item from their hotel room.
Travelers felt like extra luxuries like turndown service and bath menus were “not worth the hype,” according to 44% of female respondents and 30% of male respondents.
The bathroom phone gets no love. It is the least used hotel amenity, with 37% of total respondents saying they never touch it.
When asked about amenities at luxury hotels, women prefer designer toiletries (23%) and men prefer the fitness center and spa (27%)
When asked if they could stay celebrity-style, the top option for both men (35%) and women (38%) was to have their kitchen pre-stocked with their favorite food and beverages. However, a close second was the ability to have a private pool and hot tub in the room (37% of women; 34% of men.)
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