Peninsula Hotels rolling out free worldwide phone calls for all guests

Staying at one of the nine prestigious Peninsula Hotels dotted around the globe is as good a reason as any to brag – and that phone call home to do so is increasingly likely to be free.

The upmarket brand already offers free Internet-based phone calls using VoIP at its landmark Tokyo and newly opened Shanghai properties, and the iconic Hong Kong flagship looks to be next in line says Jean Forrest, General Manager for Marketing at Peninsula Hotels.

“Our technical department is looking at it now and hopefully there will be an announcement soon” Forrest told Australian Business Traveller, “and it’s something we are looking at down the line to introduce in most of our hotels.”

Having already set the bar high for hotels by offering complimentary internet in every room, Peninsula sees the introduction of free worldwide phone calls  as “the next step in the right direction” according to Forrest.

“Peninsula might be a little bit more expensive but we don’t want to nickle-and-dime our customers – we don’t think we should charge them for the small things.”

Forrest says that the hotel’s revenue from in-room phones “has drastically dropped over the years because everybody has their own cellphone and that’s how they make their calls, but roaming is also very expensive.”

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.