The meaning of the lyrics "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave" in the Eagles song from the 70s has many interpretations at least one of which can be applied to today's business traveler per a new study of 1,000 travelers commissioned by Samsung that found that 57% never left their hotels.
The Times of London reports that "more
than half of business travelers don’t leave the confines of their hotel
when on a business trip. What’s more, one in four
never even leave their rooms". While
58% of guests in the study say the thing they miss most of all on their business
trips is their partner, some 38% say it is their pillow, 28% their home
entertainment system and 12% their teddy bear.
The Times report notes that "with hotel guests demanding much
more of their in-room entertainment systems, two thirds of respondents to
the survey said that the gadgets and gizmos offered
by hotels is now a major part governing the ultimate choice of hotel". Other interesting revelations from the survey include the fact that guest behavior is different if hotels are not upto snuff when it comes to their tech offerrings with as many as 36% of those surveyed saying they "would boycott future visits" and 32% saying they "would moan about it to friends, family and on travel websites". As many as 23% would actively switch hotels to find one with better gadgets.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Samsung's representative said that "typically, Generation Y respondents, particularly business
travellers, are not shy about making their technology demands known and
their loyalty is based on using stylish, functional entertainment systems
that they're already comfortable with. Most worryingly, [some travelers]
don't give hoteliers the right to reply or to improve their systems. They
simply never return to the same hotel again”.Seems like a marketing challenge for hotels to rise to.