A new report from mobile services provider iPass has highlighted the dissatisfaction that business travellers have with poor WiFi services, confirming the importance of connectivity within the hotel sector.
The new Business Traveller Connectivity Report showed that almost 77% reported that simple WiFi connectivity is their greatest challenge to productivity when they’re on the road.
74% of business travellers would choose WiFi over cellular data when travelling, and 87% of respondents said they feel frustrated, annoyed or angry when connectivity isn’t available.
It’s a fact that business travellers don’t just rely on WiFi, they now expect it.
The report also highlighted the challenges of transient WiFi, with business guests citing a lack of confidence in security (36%) and dealing with intrusive advertising (32%) as key concerns when travelling. Sixty-three per cent feel that fee-based WiFi is overpriced and respondents also feel annoyed at enduring often cumbersome log in and registration processes before gaining access.
In response to these findings, iPass has launched its cloud-based Business Traveller service 2.0. The service offers users cost-effective and convenient WiFi access to more than 2.7million hotspots in aiports, airplanes and hotels in more than 120 countries.
Through a single log-in, users obtain automatic access and authentication to cost-effective and secure Wi-Fi on smartphones, tablets and laptops.
“The wireless landscape has been disrupted by the rapidly increasing availability of WiFi, which is now the dominant form of wireless access. This phenomenon has spawned a ‘WiFi first’ generation that uses cellular data only when Wi-Fi isn’t available,” said Evan L. Kaplan, president and CEO of iPass. “Business travellers are especially reliant on WiFi, but they are also increasingly frustrated by the hoops they must leap through to navigate a complex and challenging WiFi ecosystem that can include advertising, logins and payments with each session, frequent timeouts, and unpredictable and expensive fees. Our Business Traveller Service 2.0 gives business travellers the reliable Wi-Fi access they are looking for, without the hassle—so that they can simply get on with what they need to do, wherever they are in the world.”