Hotel guests say Wi-Fi crucial to positive experience, survey finds

Wi-Fi is second only to clean rooms in a survey of hotel guests asking them what constitutes a positive experience. Qualtrics asked 1,000 recent hotel guests for the key factors that defined a good stay, and 65% said access to … Continue reading →

Wi-Fi is second only to clean rooms in a survey of hotel guests asking them what constitutes a positive experience.

Qualtrics asked 1,000 recent hotel guests for the key factors that defined a good stay, and 65% said access to Wi-Fi.

It was second after the cleanliness of room, which 76% of people lent itself to a positive experience.

According to the research, 67% of hotel visitors read guest ratings when deciding where to stay and 61% won’t stay in a hotel with less than three stars in an online review. But only 24% of hotel guests who have had a bad experience have written a negative review, it says.

When asked what constitutes a negative experience, 57% of guests said unfriendly employees.

Other findings from the multi-national survey of hotel guests included:

• 34% of guests who stay at 5-star hotels have cried because of a bad hotel experience
• 19% have sneaked a pet into a hotel room
• 23% of smokers say they have smoked in a non-smoking room
• 18% have had a hotel experience that was so bad it has ruined their vacation
• 24% say a bad hotel experience has led to an argument with their spouse or partner

“Online reviews are clearly an important research tool for consumers, but given the low percentage of people that fill them out they are often not representative. Hotels need a much more comprehensive, always on view of the guest experience to identify specific areas for improvement,” said Gilly Harrison, travel industry director at Qualtrics.

“In industries like hotels and hospitality, where frontline staff can have a dramatic effect on that experience, the real secret sauce is measuring employee satisfaction and mapping that against the impact on guest feedback,” Harrison added.