Travelers' most desired hotel amenities
Related: Schensul: Hotels making room for innovation at the inn
What makes travelers happy – at least when it comes to the lodging part of their trip?
Over the years, hotels have supplied all sorts of amenities to win the hearts and dollars of travelers: Remember the crunchy-plastic shower caps? The two cotton balls tightly sealed into little waxy packets? And who could forget the washcloths origami'ed into bunnies or swans, lying in wait for us at the end of the day atop our turned-down beds? Some astonish us with their uselessness, others – the DIY coffee makers now in vogue come to mind – amaze simply because they are there. They seem way too good to actually be true.
Related: New or coming soon to hotels: the latest trends
Amenities come and go, changing with the times. Not so long ago, what topped guests' lists of favorite hotel offerings were cable TV, air conditioning and swimming pools, according to surveys conducted by Hotels.com.
In January, Hotels.com polled more than 8,600 travelers from 28 countries, including the United States, on their favorite hotel amenities and what they would like to see become standard practice at all hotels. Here's what they learned:
MUST-HAVES
* Free Wi-Fi remains the most-wished-for service: 34 percent of leisure travelers, and 56 percent of business travelers, said free Wi-Fi is a must when choosing a hotel. Among all respondents, only 11 percent said they would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi at a hotel.
* For leisure travelers, other musts were: free breakfast (25 percent), swimming pool (10), free parking (9).
* For business travel, the musts were: proximity to transportation and dining (15 percent), free breakfast (11), and a comfortable chair (6).