How are business travelers using WiFi at hotels?

To answer this question, I talked with John Gallagher today about some new research iPass conducted on this topic.

"Each quarter we survey hundreds of our customers – all of them business travelers. We're also looking at nearly 30,000,000 customer user sessions in our analysis."

The iPass Hospitality Survey findings are based on nearly 1,200 business travelers from around the globe. 48% of respondents were surveyed in Europe and Asia while 47% of respondents were from North America. To access the report visit http://bit.ly/hotelwifi

Research on internet usage at hotels

• 95 percent of business travelers care if there is Wi-Fi or a wired connection in a hotel
• 63 percent of business travelers confirm, prior to booking, whether a hotel has Internet, 24 percent assume a hotel has guest Internet connections
• A poor hotel Wi-Fi experience influences 36 percent of business travelers on whether they re-book that specific hotel in the future
• Business travelers aged 35-44 are more likely to post complaints on travel websites, followed by 45-54 year olds.
• 79 percent of business travelers return to the same locations on business trips – 22 percent do this frequently
• 17 percent of business travel hotel guests don't inform the hotel when they have a poor Wi-Fi experience
• 22-34 year-old business travelers are more forgiving with a poor hotel Wi-Fi service with only 25 percent stating it influences whether they book that specific hotel in the future

Reliable WiFi an essential hotel amenity

J.D Power & Associates indicated that Wi-Fi was a "top five ‘must-have'" amenity for hotel guests in a report earlier this year. "With hotels constantly reviewing their repeat hotel occupancy, it is increasingly important to ensure that internet connectivity for hotel guests works consistently," said Marcio Avillez, vice president of supply management at iPass. "The business traveler needs high-quality internet connectivity at hotels, whether it's an additional service fee, or free. Hotels cannot afford to overlook Wi-Fi quality as nearly 80 percent of business travelers return to the same destination. A bad Wi-Fi experience impacts half of the business traveler's decision to re-book at the same hotel or hotel chain."

Action steps for hotels to take

I asked John what hotels can do practically to offer better service in this area. A couple good quotes:

• "Make sure Internet service is of equal quality to the service you provide elsewhere in your hotel."
• "Regardless whether your connection access free or paid, you need to offer a high quality connection."
• "People just want to be connected, they don't want hassles. Our customers literally open their laptop and see how easy it is to connect to a network."

Think of WiFi as part of your overall service offering. Business travelers a lucrative market for hotels, it's important hotels are providing good service in this area for their customers.

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/business-travelers-wifi

About the author
This blog is written by Josiah Mackenzie, who enjoys exploring the relationship between emerging technology and the hospitality industry. 

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com