Starwood Hotels & Resorts has recently conducted a very interesting study among its business visitors. The hotelier asked travellers about their mobile devices and the way they use them. More than 6,000 visitors participated in the survey – 1,000 participants from each of the countries (the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany and India).
55% of respondents say they not only use mobile devices, they bring from three to four electronic devices while on road. As expected, smartphones occupy the first place and they are used by 74% of respondents. 65% of business travellers use tablets, 43% take their music players with them, and 32% take laptops to road. An interesting fact – business users prefer tablets over laptops. 68% of people say they use their tablets more often.
Smartphones are the most important gadget according to participants of the survey. 54% of respondents say they turn their smartphones on as soon as the plane lands and while still taxiing, 12% of travellers say they never turn their smartphones off. The remaining number of participants say they turn their smartphones on while in taxi or in a terminal.
What are the main purposes for using mobile devices? 90% say they use them to check email. Surfing the net is the second popular use of mobile devices (75%). Finally, 73% use them to keep in touch with the office.
Business travellers do not hesitate to use emoticons (72% of respondents say they do) and 77% say they shorthand their conversations.