According to a new report released from Chargifi, the hospitality industry has an opportunity to benefit from consumers’ desire to stay connected. Chargifi surveyed more 2,000 consumers to explore how access to power has the ability to transform the guest experience and increase footfall and consumer spend.
By 2020, almost 75 percent of the global population will be connected by mobile and on average, users touch their phones 2,617 times a day. However, connected devices with multiple apps running have one problem in common—they drain power. On a daily basis, almost two-thirds of smartphone users run out of battery before 5 p.m.
According to the research, 15 percent of people claim they have walked out of a food-and-beverage establishment because they could not charge their device. For millennials, power is even more of a priority—with one quarter admitting to doing the same—meaning a potential loss of revenue from the millennial wallet as well as a potentially negative experience of the brand.
Nearly half (46 percent) of people surveyed claim they are more likely to stay longer and order more at a hotel, café, restaurant or bar if they can charge their device and almost one in five (17 percent) say they have spent money at an F&B establishment just so they can power up. The access to power combined with positive guest experience is impacting return on investment with increased spend and guest loyalty.
The figures increase drastically for millennials, with almost two-thirds saying they are more likely to stay longer and order more if they can charge their device, compared with less than a third (30 percent) of people aged 55-64 who claim the same.
These findings are supported by the results of a six-week pilot Chargifi ran with a major global hotel brand: charging spots were installed in the bar area (with an average charge time of 45 minutes per device) and this resulted in more guests coming to the bar and staying longer than normal, with a projected 64 percent return on investment and 10 percent revenue increase per bar seat.
“In 2019 access to power is a deal-breaker for guests and customers who are looking to stay connected 24/7,” Chargifi CEO and co-founder Dan Bladen said in a statement. “Easy access to power is no longer a luxury, it is a basic need and the hospitality industry is now quickly recognizing this. Our research reveals that power has the potential to make or break a guest experience—and can positively enhance it.”
Almost 1 billion devices with wireless charging will be in circulation by 2020 and customer demand for wireless power will rise. Fifty percent of those people who own a device with wireless charging capability agreed that they are more likely to visit an F&B establishment if it provided access to wireless charging.
“Wireless charging is poised to bring convenient and ubiquitous access to power to hundreds of millions of customers and guests every day,” Bladen said. “Power is the crucial foundation that fuels our lifestyles and the increasingly flexible and fluid way of working. Today consumers need to be connected 24/7; a battery losing its charge or the search for a place to conveniently charge only serves to cause anxiety. Meeting this demand is a huge opportunity for forward-thinking hospitality brands.”
“By 2020, there will be 6 billion smartphone users worldwide and wireless power will become as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi. For the hospitality industry, this means that guests will choose venues based on whether they provide convenient access to power and we will start to see the provision of wireless charging having a huge impact on reviews.”