Study: Bad Wi-Fi experiences drive away hotel guests

We know that Wi-Fi access at hotels is an expected necessity for many business travellers these days but a new study from iPass goes even further, suggesting that hotels that have poor Wi-Fi service and availability may be losing more than a third of their business travel clientele. 

The study comes from iPass, a provider of ‘enterprise mobility services’ (read: global 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity for corporate clients), and highlights the increasing demand for high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity from business travellers. 

Perhaps the most eye-opening statistic is that these days, 36 percent of business travellers will take into account a bad Wi-Fi experience they’ve had at a hotel when deciding whether to rebook - and that for 16% of business travellers this bad experience can influence their decisions about an entire hotel chain. 

Interestingly, it’s the older business travellers that are the most unhappy when there are problems with Wi-Fi connectivity at hotels, while business travellers aged 22-34 are more forgiving - just 25% of this age bracket said that they would not re-book with a hotel where they have had a bad Wi-Fi experience. 

The findings echo the results of a Deloitte study undertaken last month, which found that 79% of those interviewed agreed with the statement "Complimentary high speed internet in my room is important to me".

The iPass survey was taken by 1,200 people, with an almost even split between respondents from North America and Europe & Asia.