Stuck in our business hotels

More than half of all business travellers never leave their hotels, preferring to play with their gadgets than explore.

Other-halves might not believe it but new research shows that it’s true – more than half of business travellers don’t leave the confines of their hotel when on a business trip. A new study of 1,000 travellers commissioned by Samsung found that 57% never left their hotels. What’s more, one in four never even leave their rooms.

Spouses – well, some of them anyway - will also be reassured to discover that 58% of travellers say the thing they miss most of all on their business trips is their partner. However, 38% say it is their pillow, 28% their home entertainment system and 12% their teddy bear.

With so much time being spent in the hotel room, guests are now demanding much more of their in-room entertainment systems. Two thirds of respondents to the survey, carried out by YouGov, said that the gadgets and gizmos offered by hotels is now a major part governing the ultimate choice of hotel.

Samsung sales and marketing director, Pammi Mudhar, said: "Despite the slowing economy, consumer expectations for a 'home from home' hotel experience are rising. Most homes these days are equipped with an array of advanced technologies. As a result, three-quarters of us expect hotel entertainment systems to at least match our home set-up, with over one in four (26%) expecting an even higher standard."

The research also revealed differing traveller behaviour if a hotel doesn’t have good tech. The study showed that 36% would boycott future visits to the hotel, 32% would moan about it to friends, family and on travel websites while 23% would actively switch hotels to find one with better gadgets.

Despite the demand for in-room entertainment systems, not everyone is clued up on how to use them. More than a third of travellers said they would wouldn’t ask reception for help if they had trouble in getting the system to work. Meanwhile, one in ten would call reception within 30 seconds to call for assistance.

The research also showed how important gadgets have become when travelling. Some 95% of respondents said they took a personal gadget with them when travelling; laptops were the most popular gadget, with 55% taking them on trips, while MP3 players favoured by 46% of respondents.

Get the full story at TimesOnline