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IHG
(InterContinental Hotels Group) today announced that it will be
providing free internet to all its 71m loyaltyprogramme members,
worldwide.
The
announcement comes as IHG reveals the results of a global online
survey* which show that nearly half of adults (43%) would choose not
to stay in a hotel that charged for internet.
IHG
is the first and only hotel group to offer free internet in all
hotels to all loyalty programmemembers, globally - whether they
stay the night or come in for a coffee or an impromptu meeting. It
will benefit millions of guests globally as IHG has the most rooms
and is in more countries than any one of the other four largest hotel
companies in the world**. This will start from July 2013 for Elite
members and extend to all members during 2014.
The
move comes as IHG announces that it will be enhancing and renaming
its industry-leading loyalty programme Priority Club®
Rewards as IHG Rewards Club in July and introducing a range of new
benefits for members.
Internet
access is increasingly important to hotel guests and a key
consideration when planning their hotel stays. New research*
commissioned by IHG reveals that:
• 43%
of adults surveyed said that they would choose not to stay in a hotel
that charged for internet.
• 23%
of respondents said that free internet in rooms and throughout the
hotel is the most important amenity when staying in a hotel for
business, compared to 7% who chose room service.
• Travellers
from China placed the most importance on online connectivity – with
nearly half (47%) listing it as the most important thing to them when
staying in a hotel for business, followed by those from Russia (26%),
the US (23%) and India (22%).
• Travellers
from the UK (18%) and the US (14%) both listed paying for internet as
the second most annoying thing when staying at a hotel after noisy
guests (22% and 24% respectively).
• Globally,
more female respondents (14%) say free internet throughout the hotel
is most important to them when staying for leisure, compared to 2%
who listed having an in-room hairdryer..
From
July, new benefits will include:
• free
internet to all Elite status members from July 2013 and extending to
all members during 2014;
• the
ability to earn Elite status faster by staying in three or more of
IHG’s hotel brands;
• Reward
Nights will count toward earning Elite status; and
• Platinum
Elite members’ “extra” nights will roll over toward maintaining
their status in their next membership year
*IHG
Internet in Hotels Survey carried out by YouGov Plc in March.
• All
figures unless otherwise stated are from YouGov Plc.
• 8,306
adults were surveyed in China (1,016), France (1,005), Germany
(1,032), India (1,011), Russia (1,018), UK (2,070) and US (1,154).
• Fieldwork
was undertaken between 1-8 March 2013.
• The
survey was carried out online.
• The
figures for each country have been weighted and are representative of
all adults (aged 18+) in each country.
• Full
survey results are available on request.
**Data
obtained from Smith Travel Research January 2013 Hotel Census.
