9 out of 10 Indians say giving tips for hotel stay comes naturally to them: Survey

Most questions in the survey were answered by 896 adults, who had stayed overnight in a hotel in the past two years

Nine out of 10 Indians who took a recent online survey said that giving tips pertaining hotel stays came naturally to them. Travel portal Expedia posed multiple choice questions to 1,014 travellers, randomly selected, to study hotel etiquettes at Indian hotels.

Most of the questions in the survey were answered by 896 adults, who had stayed overnight in a hotel in the past two years. The data was then statistically weighted for accurate demographic representation. While 79% respondents said they gave tips to bell boys for room service, other services such as housekeeping (51%), valet (24%), concierge (16%) and even cabana attendants (14%) were rewarded.

Free wi-fi, sprawling bathrooms and frills such as hot tub were a big draw for the travellers, the survey stated.

“The Hotel Etiquette survey highlights some interesting facts about preferences of Indian travellers while booking a hotel. It is interesting to note that 89% Indians consider hotel reviews as very or somewhat important while choosing a hotel. As Indian travellers are evolving, 77% consider the ability to earn and redeem reward points on their bookings as important,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing manager, Expedia (India).

But noisy fellow guests, distrait travellers with badly behaved children and couples making out openly annoyed almost half the respondents. At least 39% responses were against indiscreet lovemaking couples followed by couples bickering loudly (35%) and those making out at the poolside (32%). While most Indians switch hotel rooms for want of cleanliness, uncomfortable beds and bad view 30% votes were against noisy neighbours.