When it comes to picking a hotel, it’s all about location, location, location.
That’s according to a new survey, commissioned by Choice Hotels International, that looked at the preferences and practices of business travelers.
Among the 529 travelers polled, 73% said hotel location mattered most when picking where they stay on the road, while 61% said the quality of the room was most critical.
Though free Wi-Fi came in third with 55%, Robert McDowell, Choice Hotels’ senior vice president of global distribution, says complimentary Internet access remains “an important amenity for the business traveler … More and more people are using multiple devices when they travel, and I think the expectation is, whether they’re in a hotel room or on an airline, you can access free Wi-Fi most anywhere you go.”
While many hotels are pouring money into sprucing up business centers and other common areas to appeal to corporate trekkers, many survey respondents said they would prefer to work in their rooms.
Among those surveyed, 84% said they preferred to stay in their room to work, compared with 10% who would rather work in a hotel’s business center and 4% who prefer working in the lobby or other common area.
“More hotel brands are looking at improving their common areas,” McDowell says, yet “most of these travelers are doing more of their work in their rooms, and the common area is likely more for social interactions with other guests.”
Newer technology appears to be more popular than older devices. Among those polled, 76% book rooms online, and 60% have checked in to a hotel with a smartphone or tablet.
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Source: Charisse Jones (2014). Business travelers: Hotel location matters most , USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/27/biz-travel-choice-hotels-survey/8052727/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodayTravel-Hotels+%28USATODAY+-+Hotels+Top+Stories%29 published Apr 27, 2014. Viewed Apr 28, 2014.