Guests want king beds and free Wi-Fi – not chests of drawers or mini bars

This is according to the Perfect Hotel Bedroom report presented by Chic Retreats at the Independent Hotel Show this week, analysing data from a survey of nearly 2,000 hotel guests.

Just over half (53%) of respondents said they wanted to spend between £101-£200 on a night’s stay, just under a quarter preferred to spend less than £100, 18% from £201â€"300, and only 7% had budgets of £300+.

Around 89% said they prefer a king or super king size bed, while chests of drawers were deemed "unnecessary", and slippers, ice buckets and mini bars “out of style”.

Mini bars were considered far less vital than either coffee and tea (most important), a hairdryer (second), coat hangers, an iron, a safe and a bathrobe. Complimentary water was also considered three times more important in the minibar than alcohol. Fresh milk was the second most popular, although it almost tied place with locally-produced snacks.

In total, 57% of respondents wanted carpet rather than wood floors, and curtains beat blinds at 77% to 23%.

Free Wi-Fi came top when respondents were asked ‘How important are these tech essentials?’. Television came second, but only around half as many respondents considered it preferable to free broadband internet, and iPhone docking stations beat radios.

No 15 Great Pulteney and Paul Bayliss win Independent Hotel Awards >>

Videos from The Caterer archives

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs