It
may seem as if coffeemakers, hair dryers and ironing boards have
always come as standard amenities in your hotel room, but its not
so.
According to the
2006 Lodging Survey, conducted for the American Hotel & Lodging
Association by Smith Travel Research, 25% of hotel rooms in 2001
didnt have ironing boards. This year,
only 3% of hotel rooms are not equipped with ironing
boards.
As for wireless
Internet service in 2004, only about one-third of hotels carried
it. Now, more than 80% of them do.
The stats on
in-room amenities are part of an array of statistics that reveal
what the hotels of today look like. The survey covered in-room
amenities, security, technology, food and beverage and guest
services.
Smith Travel
Research polled more than 9,300 hotels around the country, which
represented a 21% response rate among the hotels
contacted.
The types of
available amenities varied depending on the type and price category
of hotels surveyed.
For example,
flat-screen TVs have been introduced in relatively few hotel rooms
and are most common in luxury properties. Only 12% of all
respondents indicated they have flat-screen TVs in rooms, but 51%
of luxury properties surveyed said they provide this amenity. Only
12% of all respondents indicated they provide DVD players, but 53%
of the luxury properties offer them.
Across all
categories, 99% of hotels provide cable or satellite TV, up from
69% in 1990.
Several questions
were included in the survey for the first time -- 69% of all hotels
indicated they had upgraded the bedding in their rooms over the
last year, and 85% said they stocked branded products in their
bathrooms.