Who cares about turndown service? I just want free Wi-Fi.

Those were two unsurprising findings of a recent TripAdvisor survey that asked 1,200 travelers and 600 hotel owners and managers what they considered the most and least important amenities.

After Wi-Fi, the top-rated perks were free breakfast, loyalty points, a hotel restaurant, and a complimentary shuttle to area attractions and the airport. After turndown service, the amenities getting the lowest marks were pet-friendly policies, spa, organized excursions and room service.

Perhaps as important as knowing what guests want is knowing what they will do in order to get it. Just over half of travelers surveyed said they have canceled a reservation to take advantage of better amenities at a different property. And 65 percent percent say they have gone to the lobby or other common areas to avoid paying for wireless Internet, while 41 percent have never paid for Wi-Fi access.

TripAdvisor is calling the study a 360-degree survey because it polled both travelers and hoteliers. And the results show that hotels understand some of the things that their guests want, but are missing the mark on others. Hoteliers underestimated the importance of guest loyalty points and shuttle service, while overestimating the importance of pet policies and room service.

Following are the lists of most and least desired amenities.

Photos: TripAdvisor

Related posts:
Bizarre Hotel Amenities
Trends From the HotelChatter Wi-Fi Report
Airlines Eye Free Wi-Fi for Travelers

If you’re flying the friendly skies this month—or not-so-friendly, depending on how you feel about air travel these days—be sure to take advantage of Gogo Inflight Internet’s offer of free access to Facebook for the entire month of February.

The in-air service is available on partner airlines AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America now through Feb. 28 for North American flights. Access to other websites will cost the standard Gogo fee, which starts at $4.95 for short flights, $12.95 for long.

I love these types of promotions as a way to expand the audience for in-flight access, which hopefully will lead to more airlines adding the service. And it seems to be paying off: The company’s parent, Itasca, Ill.–based Aircell, announced this morning that it has raised $35 million in funding to help expand the service.

Just as many travelers think all hotels should offer free Internet and Wi-Fi connections, there are some of us who believe we’re at the point where all airlines should offer in-flight connectivity. I’m not suggesting that it should be free … yet … just available as an option.

I have to admit I was frustrated last week when I flew JetBlue between New York and California and couldn’t connect to work while 30,000 feet in the air. (I technically have four jobs, so I desire access pretty much 24/7.) I know the company is adding an in-flight service in 2012, but given its groundbreaking track record, I expected it to be a leader in this category.

When JetBlue launched in 2000, it was by far the most innovative airline company to come along in years. Slick new planes (!), wider seats and ample leg room (!!), individual back-of-seat entertainment systems (!!!) and great service and prices (!!!!). It still is a terrific carrier (it’s the only airline my husband, who hates to fly, will happily board), and it’ll be even better once its flights are equipped with on-board connectivity for passengers. (The new service is bound to be innovative, though, and I can’t wait to see it.)

So my question to the rest of the airline companies out there who don’t yet offer Wi-Fi: Why not? It’s clearly a money maker—well, at least for Gogo, otherwise it wouldn’t have been able to attract all that new capital. Is it the money required to retrofit planes for the service? Are you waiting for a competing option? Or do you think your customers are just not that interested?

Photo courtesy of Gogo

Just as much as the air we breathe, travelers can now live without missing wifi (free or otherwise) - in parks, malls, cafes & restaurants, and airports & planes. But walk into a hotel and you’re considered lucky if you can get free and fast wifi service. 

2010 HotelChatter WiFi Survey

HotelChatter sheds light on this vexing issue in their sixth annual hotel wifi report, which shows that 2 out of the 5 major hotel companies still charge for in-room wifi in over 50% of their properties. 

The red in the chart to the left represents hotels that still charge for wifi. See the fullsize wifi chart for a detailed breakup by company and brand. 

Overall, the number of hotels charging for wifi has dropped considerably – 22% in 2004 and down to 15% in 2009, as per the AH&LA. But when it comes to luxury hotels, the trend comes to screeching halt. 

A USAToday survey of 80 brands showed that 40% charged for wifi at most or all US properties. Luxury hotels are the worst offenders, with over 49% charging for in-room internet, as compared to 16% of economy hotels and 5% of midscale properties. 

A closer look at HotelChatter’s wifi report suggests that the availability of free wifi might have something to do with demographics, and with the legalities of hotel management contracts. 

As per the report, the brands which offer the best wifi (free and reliable) are either new and chic or offer economy, and target a younger clientele. 

This list includes Hyatt’s Andaz, Starwood’s Element and Aloft brands, IHG’s Indigo, Andre Balazs’ Standard Hotels, IHG’s Holiday Inn Hotels which just got a massive rebranding, and smaller but hip trendster hotels like the Ace, Gansevoort and Personality Hotels. 

Unlike guests at the above hotels habituated to free wifi, those who frequent luxury hotels won’t complain about being billed $10 or more per day as a wifi fee, so the hotels see no reason to ax the fee. 

Another reason why wifi is not free in luxury hotels can be found in the management contracts between hotel management companies and the owners. 

Under the terms of these contracts, the owner is responsible for wifi installation and service issues, which can be quite hefty – a wifi inplementation by RoomLinX or Teledex involves a heavy installation fee and an ongoing monthly fee for tech support and maintenance.  

However, the wifi charge that guests pay adds to the management company’s fee. So the owner is not too thrilled about installing or expanding wifi coverage, and the management company doesn’t want to lose its fee. 

This deadlock gets bypassed when a brand mandates free wifi as a policy. But as all the red in the HotelChatter chart shows, there’s a long way to go before free wi-fi at a hotel turns into a right, instead of a luxury.

Wi-fi around the world

It should serve as the death knell for Internet connection charges in upscale hotels.

The pressure started with budget hotels tossing in free wi-fi connections along with their breakfast buffets. Then restaurants followed until the sign “free wi-fi here” became a staple of McDonald’s, Panera Bread and even little mom-and-pops like Aviano‘s pizza.

Now it seems airlines might be the next hospitality arena to offer Internet without a $10.95 24-hour charge.

JiWire and Row 44 are reportedly in talks with Southwest and Alaska Airlines to deliver wi-fi network paid all or in large part  by advertising instead of log-on fees. The specifics are sketchy — some speculate users will have to stroll through a virtual mall to reach the Wild, Wild Net, a modern twist on the SkyMall catalogue.

The idea would certainly appeal to a business audience that has pulled its dollars from the travel industry in this recession. In fact, surveys by the Wi-Fi Alliance show that 76 percent of business travelers would pick an airline based on wireless access, and more than 70 percent would choose wi-fi over a meal service.

And it should go a long way toward converting the Internet from a service to a standard throughout the entire industry, similar to a televsion set. Hotels need to watch this experiment quickly … and it wouldn’t hurt the cruise lines to eavesdrop, too.

Photography courtesy mujitra (Flickr)