Hotels.com release mathematic formula for ‘perfect hotel’

Popular travel site Hotels.com have released their mathematic formula for the perfect hotel and according to the study, doing the simple things well matters far more than extras such as complimentary Wi-Fi.

The research was based on 148 comments pulled from over 5 million trusted guest reviews on hundreds of thousands of hotels worldwide. From the comments, Hotels.com were able to see what customers positively highlighted most often and using the date were able to create the formula for the perfect hotel stay. According to the research, cleanliness was the most important aspect of a hotel stay with reviewer mentions showing a squeaky clean hotel is 35 times more important than an extensive complimentary breakfast offering, an onsite swimming pool or free internet access.

Second most important was friendly,helpful staff, followed by a comfy bed in third place. The hotel’s location also ranked high in importance for reviewers. Regardless of price, value for money was also a high priority for visitors. The vast majority of reviewers said benefits such as soundproofing, swimming pools, free breakfast packages and complimentary Wi-Fi were less of a priority but were considered an added bonus or ‘cherry on the cake’ if they were available.

Below is Hotel.com’s formula for the perfect hotel stay. The letters signify each aspect of a hotel stay mentioned by the reviewers and the corresponding numbers indicating the level of importance traveller associated with each point.

C35 + F25 + B10 + D7 + P2 + ½H + Q + Br + S + W = Hotel Perfection

Where:

F = How friendly are the staff

C= Perceived cleanliness of the room

B= How comfortable is the bed

P= Perceived Reasonable Price

Q= Quietness of the room

S = Swimming pool

Br= Breakfast is included

D = Location/Walking distance/access

W = Free Wi-Fi

H= Hot drink available to make in room

HP = Overall hotel perfection