AHLA: Free Internet Access Up
Three-fourths of deluxe hotel properties in the United States still charge for high-speed Internet access, according to one finding in the 2006 American Hotel & Lodging Association's Lodging Survey, released early this month.
More than 9,300 hotels responded to the survey, which covered such topics as in-room amenities, technology enhancements, bedding and food and beverage options. "Hotel companies have been doing more research the past couple of years to find out what the customers want," said Joseph McInerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, based in Washington, D.C. "They'll do more research while business is good and while they have the funds and resources to do so. If and when they hit a downturn, they'll be positioned right for the customer."
Their research has shown that one of the most vital in-room services for business travelers is high-speed Internet, which invariably is becoming a standard room service, more so than an amenity. According to the study, close to 90 percent of responding hotels had high-speed Internet capability in the rooms. Economy and independent tiers reported Internet access was only in 75 percent of the rooms. This near-ubiquity is remarkable, since as recently as the 2004 study, only 50 percent of rooms were Internet-ready. Respondents in the deluxe, upper upscale, upscale and midprice without food and beverage tiers had high-speed Internet access in more than 96 percent of their room inventory.
According to the data, wireless in-room Internet capability will be the next frontier tackled by hoteliers. The study showed that 82 percent of respondent rooms had wireless capability, up from 35 percent in 2004. "If you don't have wireless Internet, you aren't in the ballgame," McInerney said. The midprice with food and beverage tier leads the way at 89 percent, while the deluxe tier accounted for the lowest percentage of rooms with wireless Internet access, at 67 percent.
While for the business traveler access to high-speed Internet is a necessity, some hotels, mainly upper upscale and luxury hotels, still charge for it, although that number is decreasing. The AHLA's study found that 18 percent of hotels still charge for Internet access, down 4 percentage points from 2004. The percentage seems low, but many of the hotels that do not charge for Internet access reside in the lower tiers, which doesn't affect business travelers as much as the 75 percent of deluxe hotels and 76 percent of upper upscale hotels that still charge for Internet access. Yet, as many hotel executives and McInerney suspect, someday there will be no charge for high-speed Internet anywhere. "Eventually it will be free," he said. "They used to charge for telephone use or a color TV, so eventually it's going to be free."
As business travel demand continued to rise, many hotel companies sought to improve the quality of one of the most important aspects of a guest's stay: the bed. Respondent hotels from the upper upscale tier led the pack, as 88 percent of hotel properties in the sector said they upgraded their bedding within the last year. The category includes Starwood Hotels & Resort's Westin Hotels, which pioneered the Heavenly Bed.
Emanating from the spike in traveler demand is the sentiment of travelers who have been outspoken against smoking, prompting one major hotel company to eradicate smoking from its premises, hoping to attract more customers. Marriott will go smoke-free in all domestic and Canadian properties by next month, joining Westin, which was the first to prohibit smoking in its properties.
According to the study, the amount of hotels with nonsmoking room inventory is increasing, at 74 percent in 2006. The deluxe sector had the most nonsmoking rooms, at 86 percent.
"One of the problems facing nonsmokers is that when they ask for a nonsmoking room, they sometimes don't get one," said McInerney. "That really turns them off. That's where Marriott and Westin may have an edge in picking up a portion of somebody else's market. Many consumers said it's great because they are assured of having a nonsmoking room."