The places with the most reliable Wi-Fi, according to business travelers

Travelers depend on a reliable internet connection in many situations while abroad. Wi-Fi is especially critical to enabling business travelers to stay in touch with family and colleagues, conduct their work and ensure a work trip goes smoothly.

More than four in five people who travel for work (i.e., business travelers) in Great Britain (83%) and the US (89%) say it is important that they have access to Wi-Fi throughout the day. What’s more, complimentary internet access plays a role in business travelers’ decision in booking a hotel and airline, according to new research from YouGov.

Consumers are thinking about several factors, including cost, services and amenities when deciding where to stay while traveling. We asked business travelers how they felt about hotels offering complimentary Wi-Fi and 79% of business travelers in the US and 71% of those in Great Britain say that it’s one of their top considerations when choosing a hotel.

The prospect of free Wi-Fi also appears to impact business travelers’ airline choice to some extent. More than half of business travelers in the US (55%) and over a third of those in Great Britain (38%) indicate they’re willing to choose an airline based on the availability of complimentary Wi-Fi.

The study also shows a notable finding at the intersection of business travel, quick-service restaurants and internet connectivity. Roughly two-thirds of people who travel for work in the US (64%) and half of those in Great Britain (55%) say they are more willing to make a purchase from a restaurant or café that offers free Wi-Fi than from one that does not.

We also examined the places that business travelers tend to rely on for a stable Wi-Fi connection. At the top of the list are hotels rooms, with 65% of US business travelers and 59% of British business travelers saying hotel rooms offer reliable Wi-Fi connectivity. Hotel lobbies are also rated highly among more than two in five business travelers in the US (49%) and Great Britain (40%).

Next up in terms of Wi-Fi reliability are quick-service restaurants such as McDonald’s or Starbucks, followed by airports. Fewer than one in five business travelers across the US and Great Britain say airplanes, trains, ride shares or buses offer reliable Wi-Fi connections.

All of these areas tend to be highly frequented by business travelers and may serve as a touchpoint for various brands and marketers to win over a key audience that travels for work.

As business travel resumes for companies around the world, it will be important to stay up to date with people who travel for work and understand what they want out of post-pandemic travel. Polling conducted in April from

Global Travel Profiles

—which measures and tracks travel sentiments and behaviour across 25 markets and 130 destinations—indicates that 7% of British consumers say they plan to travel for work either domestically or internationally in the next 12 months. In the US, that figure increases to 10%.

Discover more travel and tourism content here

Want to run your own research? Start building a survey now