January 2012
Featured in this insight: IT & telecommunications, Culture, heritage & leisure
Market research reveals importance of Wi-Fi at hotels for British travellers: A survey by The Mystery Dining Company has highlighted UK Consumer views on Wi-Fi availability and costs when staying at hotels.
The study found that 8 in 10 consumers find Wi-Fi availability to be an important factor when choosing where to stay.
When respondents were asked whether they would prefer a less reliable, slower connection with a capped limit yet offered for free or whether they would prefer charged-for Wi-Fi access that delivers greater connection speeds and reliability, 76% said they favoured the former option for free.
Nevertheless, 78% of consumers also said they would be willing to visit a dedicated "Free Wi-Fi Zone" within a hotel if it meant access to a more reliable and faster service. This is good news for smaller hotels, as it will be more affordable for them to meet short-term customer expectations.
A total of 99% per cent of the surveyants however said that they automatically expect free Wi-Fi access if they pay £100 or more for their room.
The market research further found that Wi-Fi access is considered highly important in a hotel for 72% of business travellers. While it is less critical for leisure travellers, 25% rates it very important and 48% said it is still an important consideration when choosing a hotel.
When travelling for business, most respondents said they averaged between 30 minutes and 2 hours online daily, whereas the majority of leisure guests said they were likely to spend under 60 minutes online per day.
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