With a 900-pound water bottle gorilla and WiFi billed separately, it’s a wonder there’s any room left in the guestroom for a business traveler’s carry-on. Add a locked fitness center and the value proposition of an expensive luxury hotel room starts to crumble.
Business travelers expect many essentials: attentive concierge service, speedy check-in, bright lighting, ample workspace with accessible outlets, a great coffee maker and reliable 24-hour room service. These basics support the primary purpose of their stay: working long hours. Beyond that, subtle comforts matter too — soft, high-quality linens, an in-room iron and ironing board, and a hair dryer that actually works all contribute to a restful, productive stay and help guests feel at home in a temporary environment.
Just as hoteliers try to pamper high-paying guests, they should avoid needlessly irritating them. Increasingly, business travelers say some major luxury brands are doing exactly the opposite.
Leo Kennedy, deputy chief and executive fire officer for Cranston, R.I., travels frequently for seminars and international engagements. One of his pet peeves: finding a bottled water in the room with a card explaining the charge for removing the cap. At a certain price point, he says, surprise fees are infuriating.
“I buy bottled water in the supermarket all the time,” Kennedy says. “I know exactly what it costs. Don’t charge me six dollars for a bottle of water in a room I’ve already paid a great deal for.”
Technology is another hot-button issue. A 2012 survey by Hotel Internet Services, Inc. of 560 guests nationwide found that 91 percent said guestroom Internet services were “very important,” and 70 percent said it affected their choice of hotel.
Yet many high-end hotels still charge extra for fast, dependable in-room WiFi, sometimes adding anywhere from a few dollars to more than $30 per day. Guests who have already paid for luxury accommodations often face slow or intermittent connections despite these fees.
Hotels rarely need to build Internet infrastructure from scratch; many hotel operations already run online. It raises the question: why not fold any modest cost into the room rate? The revenue from separate WiFi fees can be substantial. For example, a 250-room hotel with 200 guests each paying $19.99 would collect roughly $4,000 in a single night — nearly $120,000 in a month. Those numbers invite questions about profit margins and revenue sharing between hotels and service providers.
Why do budget brands offer free WiFi while some luxury brands charge? Why do many boutique hotels provide complimentary WiFi without issue? Attempts to answer these questions met a lot of silence from major brands and providers — the issue often seemed shrouded in corporate discretion.
Two large luxury brands — Fairmont and Steigenberger — did comment, and several boutique operators were more forthcoming. Sean Cummings, owner of International House, a luxury boutique hotel in New Orleans, provides complimentary high-speed WiFi because he believes it’s a competitive advantage. He calls the service “blazing fast.”
“It’s my viewpoint that the hotel industry, particularly the larger chains, are still bitter that cellphones eliminated telephone revenue and iTunes replaced pay-per-view,” Cummings says. “For some, WiFi seems to be the new department for charging guests.”
The issue is international. In Prague’s boutique market, Jan Korta, group director of sales and marketing for ARIA Hotel and Golden Well Hotel, points to an internal survey of 6,300 frequent business travelers: 47 percent said a hotel must meet their technology needs before they book, with WiFi a top priority.
“Some large hotel chains waive Internet charges for loyalty program platinum and diamond members,” Korta says. “Profit margins can be high and costs relatively low, but decisions depend on hotel type, location and business mix. We provide free, premium-speed WiFi to keep guests on property and to drive other revenue streams like food and beverage.”
Jeff Doane, vice president of sales and marketing, Americas, for Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, says the brand offers WiFi to guests who have joined its loyalty program.
“It’s not a points program,” Doane explains. “It’s a loyalty program designed for the luxury business traveler — so we know our guests and can meet their specific needs.”
Doane adds that in many cases companies pay for employees’ WiFi, though that’s not universal in a tighter corporate environment. Nevertheless, fast, reliable access remains crucial, even when travelers shoulder the cost themselves.
“Complimentary in-room WiFi is a must, preferably with no strange daily log-in,” says Elisa Bosley, editor in chief of Delicious Living, who often works against tight deadlines while traveling. She also agrees that complimentary bottled water is a courteous gesture: “It’s a way for a hotel to say, ‘We know the room is expensive, so we won’t nickel-and-dime you for water.’”
Kristine Carey, vice president of marketing and consumer empowerment at MyChelle Dermaceuticals, adds that including WiFi signals attentiveness to business travelers. “I don’t want room rates to rise because costs are being hidden elsewhere — transparency is key,” she says.
HotelChatter.com’s 2013 Hotel WiFi Report shows 64 percent of hotels offer free WiFi in some form — whether for a limited period or as part of a loyalty program. The breakdown is telling: the higher the price and luxury ranking, the less likely WiFi is complimentary. Lower-tier chains such as Hampton Inn, Days Inn and Holiday Inn more frequently include WiFi and often complimentary breakfast.
Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Hotels AG, notes that everyone needs WiFi, whether they’re leisure guests, business travelers or families with children.
“It’s difficult to imagine a hotel without WiFi,” he says. “The industry examines this carefully. Some contracts with service providers include buy-back clauses or profit-sharing terms that complicate charging structures. There’s a cost of entry and a cost of exit. How a business manages those contracts influences whether guests face charges. Still, it’s hard to justify charging $300 or $700 a night and then adding $20 for WiFi.”
Even when hotels charge, limited bandwidth is still a concern.
“Obviously free is better,” says John Erich, associate editor of EMS World Magazine. “My company will pay for WiFi because it’s necessary, but signal strength is often a problem. Sometimes paid WiFi is functionally useless, and that can keep me from returning to a hotel.”
Beyond technology, familiar comforts matter: the Hotel Internet Services survey found 56.4 percent of respondents still want in-room coffeemakers. Quick check-in, generous vanity space, and an iron and ironing board remain important for business travelers who must look presentable on the road.
Los Angeles-based writer and producer Thommy Hutson values amenities that are available when he needs them — often late at night. A fitness center or pool locked during off-hours negatively affects his choice to stay. He also needs multiple accessible outlets for charging devices.
For John Erich, late check-out is a useful perk, allowing him to return to his room after morning meetings before departing.
Pre-loaded iPads are useful time savers. © Diego Vito Cervo | Dreamstime.com
New features aim to improve the business-traveler experience: free global telephone service, pre-loaded in-room tablets that guide guests through hotel services and local recommendations, and valet delivery of workout gear to save luggage space. Fairmont is testing in-room iPads and kiosk check-in in several properties. Steigenberger emphasizes high-quality bathroom amenities, plush branded slippers and robes as hallmarks of quality.
“The business traveler is a road warrior — constantly in the air, on the road or catching a train,” Chhatwal says. “When they arrive, the room should feel as good as or better than home. Small finishing touches — multiple pillows, turndown service and inviting mattresses — make the experience memorable.”
Ultimately, feeling valued rather than treated like a line item on a revenue sheet may be the most important amenity of all.