Hotel consumers rebel
against wi-fi gouging

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

ANEW survey by one of the world’ biggest accommodation booking sites reveals that internet access has become the major factor in the way travellers choose hotels.

“It is overwhelmingly factored into the decision,” says Hotels.com, which conducted the latest survey. It found 38% of travellers reported that free wi-fi played a part in their decision as a “must” to stay at a specific hotel, while 35% reported it was the simple amenity they wanted to see more in hotels. Another 31% said they wished it would become a standard in all hotels in 2012.

“Given the explosion of mobile use in the past few years, it is no surprise that travellers are requiring free and fast wi-fi,” says Taylor Cole, Hotels.com’s director of public relations and social media. “Many guests never travel without their tablets, smart phones and laptops. It’s as intuitive as packing a toothbrush.”

BLOG: Why are we getting ripped off for wi-fi?