Canadians would rather travel with their mobile phone than with a loved one, says a study from hotels.com. And we’re not averse to booking a hotel room while on the toilet.
The company’s Mobile Travel Tracker study found that two-thirds of Canadians (66 per cent) named their mobile phone as their favourite travel accessory, compared to 47 per cent who said their best friend or loved one. (Maybe they use their mobile phone to do live chats with their spouse, but still….)
The study also found that 69 per cent of Canadians spend one to two hours a day on social media when they travel, which is a lot of Instagram and Facebook posting.
Hotels.com officials say the study found that nearly a third of Canadians (30 per cent) regularly book their hotel stays on a mobile device. That’s true for 42 per cent of those aged 30-40. Short breaks at home represented 19 per cent of bookings, while business trips and short breaks abroad each accounted for 16 per cent.
Not only are Canadians actively using mobile devices to find that dream hotel, they’re also doing it in unusual places. Seventeen per cent of Canadians say they’ve booked a hotel while in bed with their partner. (You’d think they’d have other things to do, but there you go.) Eleven per cent of folks admit to booking a hotel while they’re in the office and should be working, while nine per cent confessed to booking a hotel room while sitting on the toilet. Ahem.
Asked to explain what influences their decision on where to book, 45 per cent of Canadians said the payment method was right, while 42 per cent answered that price is the best value. Other factors cited were genuine guest reviews, relevant hotel information and lots of hotel photos.
More than a third of Canadians (37 per cent) said their smart phone makes them more spontaneous on the road, and more than one-in-five said they book their rooms less than a week before they leave on a trip. A full nine per cent said they’ve booked their hotel rooms from the airport lounge before departure.
The Mobile Travel Tracker study also looked into the future and how Canadians want to use their mobile devices away from home. One-quarter of those surveyed said they’d like to use their mobile phone as an identification tool, to open hotel doors electronically or to check-in at self-serve kiosks at their hotel.
NOTE: This item originally appeared on Postmedia and Sun Media websites in Canada
