What do business travellers want from a hotel?

ALTHOUGH corporate
travellers appreciate little
luxuries during their hotel
stay, there has been a clear
shift towards more productivitydriven
perks. A recent
American Express survey
shows that, with too much to
do and too little time to do it,
road warriors need hotels with
amenities aimed at increasing
efficiency.
The single-question survey,
which was administered to
the US Internet population
through Google Consumer
Surveys, asked, ‘When
travelling for business, what
factor influences you most in
choosing a hotel?’
The results showed that
free WiFi topped the list, with
35,2% of business travellers
saying it influenced their
choice of hotel. The proximity
of the hotel to the meeting/
working space was important
for 28,2% of respondents,
while 25,5% favoured free
breakfast. Surprisingly, only
10,9% mentioned their
enrolment in a hotel’s loyalty
programme.
Danny Bryer, director of
sales, marketing and revenue
for Protea Hotels, says the
absence of free WiFi is
generally a deal-breaker the
world over, including South
Africa. “Now that technology
is commonplace, naturally
the question is ‘What’s the
next thing that’s going to
make my life easier?’,” says
Danny, adding that Marriott
International is actively looking
into facilities such as mobile
check-in and several other
developments involving mobile.
Danny adds that Gen Y
business travellers, especially,
value time over just about
everything else, so anything
that can streamline their stay
will earn the hotel repeat
business. “For that very
reason, some hotels are also
installing iPads in their public
areas, which, in effect replace
the traditional newspapers and
business centres.”
The main difference between
US and SA travellers seems
to be the importance they
attach to loyalty programmes.
In the US, loyalty programmes
rank quite low in the list of
priorities. According to Danny,
in SA it’s the opposite, with an
increase in demand for loyalty
programmes. He says the
secret to loyalty programmes
is to remain relevant by
continually re-evaluating their
value and to reassess and
reinvent where necessary.
“Loyalty programmes that
can’t do that will become less
relevant to travellers. Those
that can, will become more
important.”