With a plethora of choices and an abundance of hotel booking sites, finding your ideal hotel has never been easier. While a customer’s priority will vary depending on their reasons for travel, there are undoubtedly some elements that remain important for all travellers . We’ve teamed up with KBR, business WiFi providers and found 5 things people look for when booking their IDEAL hotel.
GOOD WIFI
iPhones, tablets and laptops are top of the checklist when it comes to Britons’ packing essentials. These days, tech savvy guests expect more than just an ample supply of sockets in their hotel room, and free Wi-Fi is taken as a given. Indeed, according to research carried out by Statista, free Wi-Fi is the deciding factor for both business and leisure travelers.
In fact, for business travellers, 49% favoured free Wi-Fi over anything else. As such, larger budgets are being assigned by hoteliers to continue the use of Wi-Fi within their hotels and according to a report in 2016, 56% of hotels said that they were prioritising in-room technology in their next budget, highlighting just how important wifi is for guests.
LOCATION AND PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Speaking of Wi-Fi, a London hotel carried out research to see what was more important — location or a hotspot connection. When guests were asked, 67% said Wi-Fi was the deciding factor on whether they chose a hotel or not. However, only just as 65% of people said they would decide purely on geographic location. Indeed, the location of your hotel makes a huge difference to your overall trip. In order to get the most out of your holiday, people favour a spot which is within reasonable reach of the most important attractions and has easy access to public transport.
A FREE BREAKFAST
Is there anything better when you’re on holiday than letting loose on a hotel’s breakfast buffet? It’s one of the finest pleasures of the hotel experience, and the truly great buffet breakfast turns a sometimes mundane daily ritual into the ultimate gastronomic experience. And we’re not the only ones who think so as according to research by J.D Power, breakfast is one of the most essential amenities for travelers.
CLEANLINESS & COMFORT
Cleanliness and comfort outweigh little luxuries like the aforementioned breakfast, a pool, coffee machines and all those other little touches that many hotels swear by to improve a guests experience. That is according to research by hotels.com who analyzed 148 million comments from 5 million guest reviews to come up a “mathematical formula” for the perfect hotel stay: F25 + C35 + B10 + P2 + Q + Br + D7 + S + W + ½H = “Hotel Perfection.” This is backed up by research by Hague hotel who found that hygiene and cleanliness is the most important factor for 70 per cent of guests.
SUSTAINABLITY
Eco-tourism is experiencing a vital, international surge in popularity and it’s about time. Indeed, sustainable tourism is a growing market and 68% of tourists prefer to book eco-