Many business travellers believe that free hotel Wi-Fi is a
divine right - traveller Dean Barrett blogs about it here.
And many corporate travel managers would agree with them, investing valuable
resources in negotiating free Wi-Fi during the RFP season, of which we are
still in the midst.
But according to a Databank league table in Buying
Business Travel magazine, it would be an understatement to say that all
hotels are on their side. And what’s even more interesting is the huge
discrepancies between countries throughout Europe when it comes to giving away
the Holy Grail of business travel as part of the rack rate.
The following table shows the percentages of hotels offering
free Wi-Fi in the best-served 20 countries in Europe. You’ll see that the UK
comes in at a disappointing 14th place. Turkey, however, excels in
its complimentary internet provision. The Mediterranean countries fare worst.
Why such discrepancies exist it’s hard to say. It could be
telecoms costs, hotel rates or just the cultural norm. But what is useful about
this league is the power it gives corporate travel managers when it comes to
negotiating those add-ons during the RFP process. Such vital information about
travel patterns can help them direct their resources more effectively when
planning a global programme. This league shows, for example, that there is very
little point demanding free Wi-Fi for travellers to Turkey, when nearly 85
per cent of hotels include it for free anyway. It may be wiser to ask, instead, for
free parking, late checkout and early check in, free breakfast, gym passes or
airport transfers?
So is free hotel Wi-Fi the divine right of all business
travellers? Well Turkey seems to think so. And with a little strategic
strong-arming from travel managers across Europe, hopefully it won’t be too
long before the rest of the continent follows suit.
David Chapple is event director for the Business Travel
Show, which is the leading conference and exhibition in Europe for the
corporate travel market. www.businesstravelshow.com
It is very simple. As a small business, no free internet then no booking. Low cost chains can do it then so can the larger ones. GBP15 per day is taking the ***, especially on executive floors where it really should be included as part of the package and is in most places I travel to. I lobbied Holiday Inn for ages and informed them every time they lost another week's booking because they insisted on charging. Now at least it is free for Priority Club holders and next year will be free to all, but it is late and many other hotels have been sampled in the meantime. I am painfully aware than against the big corporates, what I think holds no sway with the hotels but at least I can vote with my feet, and do. If they do not care about losing a week's booking for one person for the sake of free WiFi then neither do I. These days there is plenty of choice in most cities and some of the smaller hotels that make the effort are a good deal better as well.
ReplyDelete