HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
A pan – India survey commissioned by IHG Hotels & Resorts as part of the launch of their “Guest How You Guest” global loyalty campaign revealed insightful results, to better understand how consumers like to enjoy their time as a hotel guest.
With a total sample size of 5000 respondents including male (52.7%) and female (47.3%) from age groups of 18 – 65, the survey aimed to explore preferences and desires of guests during hotel stays, critical to offering a world-class hospitality experience. It revealed how hotel guests value a more personalised experience that allows them to be totally themselves, something the hotel group hopes to offer to each and every guest.
The survey results revealed what guests are looking for in a hotel experience, with the three most popular features of a hotel stay rated as — 58% of respondents enjoy room services in hotels while 53% of guests are fond of selection of food available at in-house restaurants and the facilities such as pool, sauna stands at 50%. Meanwhile, 40% of respondents enjoy in-room entertainment available in hotels for a satisfactory stay.
Further exploring how Indians like to guest in hotels, the research showed that 32 per cent are content walking around a hotel in their beachwear. 22 per cent like to get changed for dinner to look their best, while 19 per cent are comfortable enough slouching in their pajamas and hotel slippers. 17 per cent respondents revealed that not having to cook for themselves or clean up after (15%) are truly key luxuries that enrich the hotel stay experience.
A stand-out statistic in the survey was that 93% of guests feel they can completely be themselves while staying at hotels. While 56 per cent feel they are always relaxed during their stay and 34 per cent of respondents feel completely at home during their hotel stays, 12 per cent worry that their kids may misbehave and cause disturbance to other guests.
The insightful survey also revealed the popularity of a personalised hotel experience (79%), something IHG Hotels & Resorts are seeking to celebrate with the launch of their ‘Guest How You Guest’ campaign. The global initiative highlights the benefits of unique and personalised guest experiences for members of their newly launched IHG One Rewards programme. The programme, a standout in the hospitality sector, provides industry-leading value and relevant benefits for members to enhance their stays beyond what is already carefully curated for guests.
IHG also created a series of ‘hotel guest archetypes’ as part of the research. Amongst these, 31 per cent are “memories-makers”, focusing on creating memorable experiences and touristing around the local area and 23 per cent classed themselves as a “groupie”, most likely to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. 17 per cent admitted to being “party people”, using the pool by day and going for drinks at night, while 16 per cent were “romance-lovers”, enjoying luxurious, romantic trips with their partners, and finally, 10 per cent are “explorers”, going off the beaten track to discover new experiences.
Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts commented, “The hospitality industry in India is ever evolving and growing at a very rapid pace, catering to diverse guest preferences across business and leisure segments. Guests remain the focal point of all our services, and thus it is imperative for us to understand their needs, desires and preferences to deliver what they’re looking for the most. It has been very insightful to understand that guests value personalized services at hotels the most. At IHG, we aim to deliver just that and more to attract repeat customers. We know each and every one of our guests is unique, and with our reinvigorated loyalty programme, IHG One Rewards, members can tailor the way they use their points to best suit them.”
The benefits of IHG One Rewards include a faster bonus point earning structure, with which members can gain even more points and bag rewards sooner, free breakfast for Diamond Elite members, exclusive access to Reward Night Discount Promotions, room upgrades, early check-in or out and more (subject to terms and conditions).
IHG Hotels & Resorts is constantly improving One Rewards to cater to the changing desires and needs of guests across its brands, which include Indigo, voco, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Kimpton, amongst others. IHG’s Guest How You Guest campaign will provide One Rewards members with exclusive celebrity hotel experiences at select hotels (for a limited period), meet and greets with celebrities, and much more.
