Price Becoming More Important, Says Radisson Blu

Mar 18, 11 | 12:03 am

One in two people are more cost-driven than a year ago when booking hotels, according to research by Radisson Blu.

The group asked more than 2,000 Brits how their priorities had changed over the past year when it came to booking hotel breaks. 

The responses showed 49% are more cost-driven than they were a year ago, while shopping around (52%), taking advantage of offers (48%) and travelling outside peak times (29%) are identified as the key ways to save.

However, while people are becoming savvy with their bookings, most are not willing to sacrifice service for a good price. 

Almost two in three people (61%) said that quality meant great service at an acceptable price, compared with 38% who said quality was about good prices and acceptable service levels.

When people were asked what constituted good value, 56% said they would value good food over other factors such loyalty points or a recent refurbishment.

Having breakfast included in the cost of a hotel stay is the number-one priority for people, followed by good food.
 
A good location, free wi-fi and good facilities also made the top five list of value indicators.

The research also revealed the over-55s are most likely to shop around to compare prices and facilities (54%) and search for promotional offers (51%).

Fewer than one in ten 18-34 year olds will sacrifice a holiday abroad in order to save money, compared to 21% of over-55s, while 40% of business travellers will search for promotional deals when booking, compared with an average of 48% across all respondents.

Older people are more likely to accept lower service standards if the price is right.  Almost one in two (48%) would define quality as a good price and acceptable levels of service, compared to just 28% of 18-34 year olds.

Mark Willis, regional director at Radisson Blu UK, said: ‘Shopping around is now the savvy thing to do and people want to feel they're making clever travel choices. 

‘Hotels need to provide great service and be in the right places in order to keep up with demand.'


Source: e-tid.com