Key Findings

Cost mattered to both groups, but not in isolation. Business and leisure travelers alike treated a competitively priced room as table stakes, the kind of factor that doesn't win a booking so much as lose one if it's out of line with the market.

Location split along predictable but distinct lines. Business travelers cared about proximity to an airport or a work-related venue like a conference center, while leisure travelers were oriented around proximity to an attraction or easy access by car, two versions of the same question (how far will I have to travel once I'm already here) answered differently depending on why someone was traveling in the first place.

A few findings cut across both groups in ways that were less expected going in. Non-smoking was treated as a hard requirement rather than a preference; participants described it as a dealbreaker, not a nice-to-have.

In-room food storage came up repeatedly too, especially among business travelers who wanted to keep leftovers or cook for themselves during longer stays rather than eat out for every meal. A proper bathroom, shower and tub both, mattered to nearly everyone we talked to. A workout facility or pool came up as a genuine want for both groups, though not as a dealbreaker; it shaped preference between comparable properties without ruling out a hotel that lacked one.

The pandemic left its own mark on the data. Participants across both groups said they now scrutinize a hotel's cleaning protocols before booking, and most expected that scrutiny to outlast the pandemic itself rather than fade once travel felt normal again.

The two groups also diverged in ways specific to why they were traveling. Business travelers described their hotel room as a second workspace as much as a place to sleep, which made stable WiFi and a working desk and lamp non-negotiable. Several also called out complimentary breakfast as important, since a work trip often leaves no real way to get food outside the hotel. Leisure travelers, by contrast, made their decisions around simpler logistics: room availability and their preferred bed size were the two factors that most directly decided where they stayed.

Loyalty program enrollment turned out to hinge on two conditions, and either one alone was enough to keep someone out. Any cost attached to membership was an immediate deterrent, full stop. And travelers who didn't travel often assumed, correctly or not, that they'd never accumulate enough points to make joining worthwhile. Among members, expectations were consistent: points should translate into free rooms, room upgrades, complimentary food, and complimentary transportation. Membership itself should come with a more personalized level of service at check-in and throughout the stay.

Recommendations

The findings pointed to five specific, actionable changes rather than a vague call to "improve the guest experience." Based on what strong patterns that surfaced in the interviews and the affinity diagram, we recommended five changes: