Free WiFi Tops Business Travelers’ List of Hotel Must-Haves

Skift + American Express asked them— in an online survey — what hotel amenities they look for while on the road. The results show that business travelers prize features that help them work faster and more effectively. We’ve outlined the top-level results of our survey below.Topline Result, Chart below:
Free WiFi tops the list of amenities business travelers most favor, with 35.2% saying it influences their choice of hotel, while 28.2% place value on the proximity of their hotel to the space in which they are working or meeting. After that, 25.5% favor free breakfast. Surprisingly, only 10.9% of those that travel for business factor in their enrollment in a hotel’s loyalty program.

Breakdown by Gender, Charts below:
Overall gender breakouts split somewhat evenly across the board. While 36.2% of men, and 32.1% of women chose free WiFi as the overall top amenity, 31.7% men and 30.9% of women said a hotel close to their office or meeting place was important. Free breakfast was also a factor, with 21.7% of men and 28.7% identifying it as being their amenity of choice when deciding where to stay.

For men:

For women:

Breakdown by Age, Charts below:
Free Wifi is valued most by almost every age group, except by those 55 and older, who say having a hotel close to where they are working or meeting is top of mind.

18-24 year olds:

25-34 year olds:

35-44 year olds:

45-54 year olds:

55-64 year olds:

Breakdown by Region, Charts below:
Of business travelers in the US West and South, 37.9% and 35.1%, respectively, place a higher value on free WiFi than those in other areas. In the Midwest, 39.7% value having a hotel close to where they are working or meeting; 38.3% of those in the Northeast chose proximity to their office or meeting place.

US West:

US South:

US Midwest:

US Northeast:

Breakdown by Region, Charts below:
Interestingly while suburbanites overwhelmingly value free WiFi while traveling for work, 36.1% of those living in urban areas and and 32.3% of those living in rural areas chose proximity to work / meeting location over free WiFi (31.7%) and breakfast (28.8%), respectively.

Suburban region:

Urban region:

Rural region:

Breakdown by Inferred Parental Status, Charts below:
The majority of non-parents, of 52.1%, wish to stay in a hotel that offers free WiFi, while 40% of parents surveyed said they wish to stay in a hotel that’s close to where they are meeting; 40% also value free breakfast.

Non-parent: