Why hasn't free Wi-Fi come to luxury hotels in the way that it has swept through the mid-tier market?
The most glaring inconsistency in the hotel industry may be the way in which free Wi-Fi has steamrolled its way through budget to mid-tier hotels, even while luxury brands continue to charge an arm and a leg for the service. A recent study says give the people what they want: free Wi-Fi.
The 2016 U.S. Luxury Travel Report, prepared by Resonance Consultancy, examined the amenities desired by the top 1% and top 5% of travelers, to see what the wealthiest want when checking in. The survey of 1,667 travelers defined the top 1% bracket as those earning income of $400k+ or net worth of $8 million+, and top 5% as those earning income of $200k+ or net worth of $2 million+.
What the survey found lacking in the world's ritziest hotels was free Wi-Fi. Wealthy respondents overwhelmingly declared the service to be their most desirable hotel amenity; 51% of respondents called free Wi-Fi "extremely important", while another 66% said it was "very important". Atmosphere Research Group travel consultant Henry Harteveldt tells Bloomberg Business:
“It’s a glaring inconsistency in the hotel business, and frankly it’s just a flat-out stupid approach to doing business.”
Free Wi-Fi catapulted into the realm of realistic expectation in 2015 after a protracted public fining of Marriott for blocking guest Wi-Fi signals in order to force conference attendees to purchase their own, extremely expensive offering. Perhaps reading the writing on the wall, Hyatt then announced that free Wi-Fi would now come standard at its entire portfolio of properties. Within months, much of the industry scrambled to fall in line with the new, consumer-friendly normal — except, it turns out, the priciest hotels in the industry.
The crown jewels in many a hotel brand's offerings continue to charge exorbitant fees to access the on-site wireless internet, leading Bloomberg's Justin Bachman to wonder:
"It's not clear why a $500 (or more) hotel room doesn't offer some level of free Internet when countless Starbucks, airports, and coffee shops have figured out the economics of doing so."
Fittingly, The 2016 U.S. Luxury Travel Report costs $1,200, but you can purchase and download the entire document HERE.