In-Room Wi-Fi Selected as Number One Travel Ancillary
Switchfly, Inc. has announced the results of Forrester’s Q2 Online Benchmark Recontact Omnibus Survey, fielded on behalf of Switchfly, Inc., which examined the behaviors of American travelers and their thoughts on hotel and airline ancillary selections. The national survey was fielded to 9,996 U.S. online adults (18+, online weekly or more) in June 2016.
When it comes to what travelers pay for to make their trips more comfortable, in-room Wi-Fi is at the top of the leader board, with almost one in five U.S. online adults revealing that they’ve made this purchase in the last 12 months (18 percent). This is followed by:
• Ground transportation—14 percent
• Airport shuttle—13 percent
• Extra bags—12 percent
• Upgraded seating—10 percent
• Priority boarding, in-flight Wi-Fi and in-flight media—9 percent each
• In-room services (e.g., mini-bar or massages)—8 percent
While airport shuttles were the third most popular ancillary, it’s also the service online adults are most unaware of, with 23 percent admitting they’ve never heard of this service. This is followed by in-room services (20 percent), in-flight Wi-Fi (19 percent), priority boarding, ground transportation, in-flight media and extra bags (18 percent each), upgraded seating (17 percent) and in-room Wi-Fi (16 percent).
In-Flight Entertainment More Important Than a Mini-Bar When asked which ancillary service they’ve heard of but have no intention of purchasing, more than half of U.S. online adults selected in-room services (54 percent).
What else don’t travelers want?
• Priority boarding—53 percent
• Extra bags—51 percent
• Upgraded seating, in-flight Wi-Fi and in-flight media—50 percent
• Ground transportation—44 percent
• Airport shuttle—43 percent
• In-room Wi-Fi—40 percent
The survey also asked U.S. online adults about the importance of being able to use loyalty points to purchase ancillary services, and almost half (44 percent) of the respondents agreed (agree is a 4 or 5 on a 1=disagree to 5=agree scale) that it’s important to them, while 24 percent disagreed that it is important to them (disagree is a 1 or 2 on a 1=disagree to 5=agree scale). Additionally, the survey discovered that 36 percent of respondents agree that being able to purchase ancillaries from any device was important to them.
When it comes to what travelers pay for to make their trips more comfortable, in-room Wi-Fi is at the top of the leader board, with almost one in five U.S. online adults revealing that they’ve made this purchase in the last 12 months (18 percent). This is followed by:
• Ground transportation—14 percent
• Airport shuttle—13 percent
• Extra bags—12 percent
• Upgraded seating—10 percent
• Priority boarding, in-flight Wi-Fi and in-flight media—9 percent each
• In-room services (e.g., mini-bar or massages)—8 percent
While airport shuttles were the third most popular ancillary, it’s also the service online adults are most unaware of, with 23 percent admitting they’ve never heard of this service. This is followed by in-room services (20 percent), in-flight Wi-Fi (19 percent), priority boarding, ground transportation, in-flight media and extra bags (18 percent each), upgraded seating (17 percent) and in-room Wi-Fi (16 percent).
In-Flight Entertainment More Important Than a Mini-Bar When asked which ancillary service they’ve heard of but have no intention of purchasing, more than half of U.S. online adults selected in-room services (54 percent).
What else don’t travelers want?
• Priority boarding—53 percent
• Extra bags—51 percent
• Upgraded seating, in-flight Wi-Fi and in-flight media—50 percent
• Ground transportation—44 percent
• Airport shuttle—43 percent
• In-room Wi-Fi—40 percent
The survey also asked U.S. online adults about the importance of being able to use loyalty points to purchase ancillary services, and almost half (44 percent) of the respondents agreed (agree is a 4 or 5 on a 1=disagree to 5=agree scale) that it’s important to them, while 24 percent disagreed that it is important to them (disagree is a 1 or 2 on a 1=disagree to 5=agree scale). Additionally, the survey discovered that 36 percent of respondents agree that being able to purchase ancillaries from any device was important to them.