Global survey by IHG highlights the importance of connecting with family back home to travel happy.

A new global survey* commissioned by IHG to mark the launch of its new loyalty programme benefits, reveals that online connectivity is increasingly important in  helping travellers maintain important relationships.

The new report, surveying 10,000 people who travel alone for business worldwide, was commissioned by IHG to understand travellers' thoughts on keeping connected with family and friends. The findings, released as IHG becomes the first and only hotel group to offer free internet access to all its loyalty members*, demonstrate the emotional importance placed on connectivity with family and friends back home by travellers.

Daily Contact

Connecting with home is so crucial to today's travellers that 65% said it would make them very unhappy to travel alone for work if they could not.

Of these, more than one in ten would refuse to travel at all if they had no way of connecting back home. With 83% of travellers checking in at least daily with their partner and 79% of working parents checking in with their children at least once a day whilst travelling away, families are clearly looking for seamless connections wherever they may be based.

More revealing are the numbers globally who contact their parents (37%) and their grandparents (20%) at least once a day whilst away on business.

 Dial In and Dial Down

The research reveals that over half (53%) of travellers who are parents find connecting with family at home is the best way to de-stress at the end of a working day when travelling.

And 31% cite logging onto the internet for the first time as the thing that helps them feel most happy and settled in their hotel room. This ranked above entering and exploring the room (25%); unpacking (13%) or taking a shower (14%).

Relationship expert, Jenni Trent Hughes says, "Because of the way connectivity is evolving, we now expect to maintain the same level of contact with loved ones when we're away as we do when we're in the same room. "I would have contacted you more, but you know how expensive it is," can make the person at home feel unvalued. The beauty of connecting online is that the costs tend to be less and the service more efficient so you can maintain the value that keeping in regular communication brings to your relationship. Good communication and feeling valued are two of the primary aspects of a solid relationship."

Family Connections

• 44% of travellers have trained their parents or grandparents to use the internet such as Skype, FaceTime and social media so that they can stay in touch, while an additional 35% would consider it.
• Nearly half of travellers (44%) have Skyped a pet when travelling away from home.
• Over one in 10 parents (14%) now choose face-to-face interaction such as Skype or FaceTime as the most effective way to stay in touch with their children when travelling away from home on business.
• Nearly half of parents say they would use Skype or FaceTime to share evenings with their family when travelling away on business (47%) if it was free.
• Over a quarter of parents who travel for work would like to share dinner time (28%) or bed time (29%) with family back home online.
• One in five parents (18%) would choose to help their kids with their homework via Skype or FaceTime when travelling away on business if it was free.

Richard Solomons, Chief Executive, IHG, said:

 "We understand how important it is for our guests to be able to stay in touch whilst travelling. That's why, alongside great existing benefits such as points that never expire, we have introduced free internet for our members as part of IHG Rewards Club. These leading benefits are why IHG Rewards Club has been chosen by more travellers than any other hotel loyalty programme worldwide.

IHG's family of brands across 4,600 hotels ranges from an award-winning InterContinental resort to a city-centre Holiday Inn hotel. Our scale and diversity means that our hotels can meet our guests' needs whatever the occasion – whether an overnight getaway, a business trip, a family celebration or a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "

IHG Rewards Club, formerly Priority Club® Rewards, is the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with industry-leading benefits including a fast track to Gold Elite status when guests explore IHG's family of nine trusted brands, and points that never expire.