Refinishing Touch Survey: Rate Key tp Hotel Choice

227 hotel visitors share buying decisions

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. April 18, 2009

APRIL 17, 2009 - The Refinishing Touch, a world leader in on-site, environmentally friendly furniture refinishing and reupholstery to governmental agencies, universities, hotels, and resorts, has surveyed travelers to hotels in New York City (NYC) and Los Angeles (LA) to compare the different reasons why people choose hotels on each coast of the US. The survey of 227 respondents highlighted that room cost is currently the major deciding factor behind every hotel room hire decision, for business and leisure travelers alike, in both cities.

The Refinishing Touch performs high quality armoire modification, refinishing, and reupholstering for large hotel chains, enabling them to cost-effectively maintain all guest areas to brand standards.

In both cities, room rate was the top influencing factor for hotel guests, reflecting the economy and consumers' and business travelers' sensitivity to pricing, but other factors were weighted differently on the West and East coasts.

In fashion-conscious LA, star rating appears as the second biggest deciding factor behind the hotel room purchase decision, while location is the second most important factor in NYC. The brand name of a hotel is more important in NYC (third position) than in LA (fifth position) - highlighting that while the boutique and individual experience may prevail in sunny LA, the guarantee and reliability provided by a recognizable brand name helps travelers feel more secure in the big city.

Interestingly, despite 72% of respondents in the LA survey claiming a business reason for their trip, business amenities came last in the list of important factors in hotel choice. For those visiting NYC, however, business amenities available at the hotel were more important than green initiatives, parking availability or other deciding factors such as a personal recommendation, a good restaurant being within the hotel or the hotel being dog-friendly.

Predictably, the availability of parking facilities is much more important in LA, where it is the fourth most important factor, than in NYC, where it is the seventh most important factor, behind green initiatives. In LA, green initiatives also appear sixth on the list of importance.

When asked to rate three potential hotel initiatives that would attract them as guests, overall, in both LA and NYC, travelers listed their things to focus on in 2009 by order of importance as 'partnerships and promotions with airlines' first, followed by 'guest promotions' and 'green initiatives'.

Mario Insenga, President of The Refinishing Touch, said: "Cost is the over-riding concern for hotel guests, to the extent that they'd be more willing to compromise on location and brand loyalty. Attracting new business is a question of creating creative alliances and promotions, which can erode margins, and positioning the business as green. For hoteliers already feeling the pinch, it could prove difficult to maintain the quality that guests and brand owners expect."

He adds: "While some costs are outside the control of hotel operators, it is possible to cut the lifecycle cost of furniture. Refurbishing instead of replacing furniture can save up to 80 percent while delivering as-new results. Given the volume of furniture that hotels must manage, there's a clear opportunity here to cut costs without hurting the customer experience," he said. "At the same time, the approach is environmentally sustainable, and can form a key part of the kind of green initiative that customers are increasingly looking for."