Surveys reveal travelers’ favorite hotel amenities
Hotel perks, bonuses, fringe benefits and certain extra touches make time on the road, well, homier. Those were the subjects of just-released Hotels.com survey rankings for travelers' most desired room and property amenities.
The hotel booking website used the results of its 1,000-person survey to create two lists: 10 Most Important Hotel Property Amenities and Top 10 Most Important In-Room Amenities. It found that free wireless Internet connectivity ranked first among in-room priorities and third for top property amenities.
In our technologically tuned-in society, what elbowed Wi-Fi out of top position for property amenities? Complimentary breakfast. “To purchase breakfast, lunch and dinner for an entire traveling family adds up quickly,” Taylor L. Cole, a travel expert with Hotels.com, told Yahoo Travel in an email. “Having the option of eating the first meal of the day for free can save families cash they can otherwise use to explore their surroundings.”
Hotels.com has even set up a dedicated page for those travelers who seek the convenience of a complimentary breakfast on the road. Not surprisingly, having a restaurant on site took second place on the property amenities list.
How are properties responding to requests for these elements? “This is a case of supply and demand,” Cole said. “Over the last two years, our amenities survey noted the demand by travelers for more free Wi-Fi offerings, and over that time, we’ve seen more and more hotels offering free Wi-Fi. After this year’s amenities survey, we may see more hotels meeting the breakfast and hotel restaurant demand.”
Complimentary breakfast is one of the things The Plantation Inn on Maui is known for. “Guests enjoy coming back year after year for our poolside, deluxe continental breakfast,” hotel manager Sam Balantac told Yahoo Travel. “We serve a variety of items including fresh island fruit, gourmet French toast, eggs Florentine and homemade yogurt to provide our guests with an intimate and relaxing meal.”
Also high on the property list, at No. 4, was parking. This came as no surprise to Los Angeles-based frequent traveler Jay Cywan. “I’ve always found the high cost of parking at hotels in major cities bothersome, but I also understand everybody’s got a car.” His suggested solution: “I’d prefer it be included in the room rate.”
Susie Storey, communications director at Great Wolf Lodge Resorts, told Yahoo Travel the company’s properties use pools as centerpieces. “Our lodges have a full indoor water park experience with wading pools, lazy rivers and waterslides. They’re all indoors, so [they] provide 84-degree water fun all year round.”
Beyond free Wi-Fi, high-demand in-room amenities kicked off with bathroom showers at No. 2, followed by room size at No. 3.
Television ranked No. 4; its popularity prompted the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills to add a few perks when it came to its TV amenities.
“We have exclusive digital fitness videos by celebrity trainers from Blue Clay Fitness and wellness videos from celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder, which are available complimentary through our in-room iPads,” the hotel’s director of public relations, Kim Kessler, told Yahoo Travel. Also on hand for guests who forget their fitness gear: workout clothes and sneakers on complimentary loan.
Just behind TV on the in-room amenities list, at No. 5, was air-conditioning, followed by coffee and tea availability at No. 6, with non-smoking rooms at No. 7. Housekeeping claimed the No. 9 spot.
Two room amenities that dovetail: No. 8, premium bedding, and No. 10, mattress type. They were the focus of a survey Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts did through market research company Ispos. The findings, which showed high demand for a personalized sleep environment, led the company to recently launch a worldwide, customizable sleep experience.
Four Seasons guests can choose a mattress system — combining specialty toppers, gel-foam technology and different levels of firmness — from a line created specifically for the brand by Simmons. Four Seasons also offers specialty pillows, noise machines and bedside amenities.
Other important sleeping factors revealed in the survey: Noise levels, the ability to adjust temperature, fresh air and control over how much light enters the room.
As for bedside amenities, the Four Seasons’ sleep study showed that the favorites were bath salts and oils, room scents and herbal tea. Desired bedside conveniences ranged from electrical outlets for personal devices to master switches for the window blinds. Younger travelers were more likely to want an iPod dock.
“One of the interesting findings in the survey is that the younger the traveler, the more likely they are to have specific preferences, and to say so,” Dana Kalczak, Four Seasons vice president for design, said in a press release.
Yes, travelers’ expectations are evolving, and hotels and resorts seem to be listening to their wants and needs. "We've conducted the Hotels.com Amenities Survey annually for the past three years now,” Cole said. “We use the findings to help our partner properties continually improve the travel experience for our customers, and management from several hotels has expressed their appreciation for the useful information."
