Nuts to mini-bars, say hotel guests
NEW YORK – Hotel guests want a free breakfast and they don’t want to be slugged by high prices at the room mini-bar, according to two new surveys.
Approximately one-half of hotel guests, whether on holiday or on a business trip, expect a free breakfast as part of their room rate, according to a new study from YPB&R, the international advertising agency specialising in travel and leisure clients.
As part of their hotel selection decision-making process, almost half of leisure travellers and more than half of business travellers feel a free breakfast is very or extremely influential, said the survey
Business travellers’ attitudes toward free breakfast are even more pronounced in measuring hotel pricing and value.
More than three in five business travellers surveyed find a hotel or motel that provides a complimentary breakfast included with the hotel’s nightly room rate very or extremely desirable.
TripAdvisor’s hotel mini-bar/fridge survey of more than 1,600 travellers worldwide found – not altogether unexpectedly – that price, not selection, is the most important factor when it comes to using the mini-bar.
Ninety-four percent of travellers surveyed would use the mini-bar more often if the prices were more reasonable. Thirty-three percent of travellers said they never hit the mini-bar.
One-quarter of survey respondents have had a dispute with a hotel over a mini-bar charge. Men are more likely to get into a dispute over a mini-bar bill than women.
Thirty-four percent of travellers feel they have been inaccurately charged for something in the mini-bar or fridge.
With the advent of motion and weight sensors, 16% of travellers have been billed for simply adding items to a hotel room mini-bar/fridge or for moving contents around. Seven percent have been charged for merely storing their own items in a mini-bar/fridge.
To avoid being charged at higher hotel prices, 20% of travellers have replaced an item in their hotel room mini-bar/fridge.
Beef jerky and energy drinks were the least popular items travellers would purchase from a mini-bar. Nuts are the snack of choice.
Ian Jarrett
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