London - While holidaying is normally a time to switch off from the outside world, a new survey has revealed that the lure of technology proves too strong for many.
A whopping 65 percent of tourists say they cannot bear to go more than just seven minutes before logging on to the hotel wi-fi.
Just a decade ago, free hotel wi-fi was rare but in the social media reliant world of today, a quarter of Brits would refuse to even stay somewhere if the hotel didn’t provide free internet.
The desire for free wi-fi was second, on the hotel guests’ wishlist, only to a free room upgrade.
And for a third of British travellers, enquiring about the internet password is the first thing they ask for upon arrival at their hotel – even before checking their room – according to the study by nationwide chain Roomzzz.
The reason for this was found to be linked to feeling cut off from the world back home. Today, 61 percent claim they feel bored and lonely without internet.
It transpired that Londoners are most reliant on the internet, with 30 percent saying they would walk out of a hotel if it didn’t provide free wi-fi.
And 10 percent of hotel guests polled say if they checked into a hotel and there was an issue with the wi-fi they would demand financial compensation or even a full refund of the room rate charge.
But it appears that more and more hotels are catering for this reliance on connectivity.
Of those surveyed, 14 percent claimed they had never stayed in a hotel where free wi-fi wasn’t offered as standard and 34 percent claimed it had been years since they had stayed in a hotel without free wi-fi.
Daily Mail