Accor to give guests free Wi-Fi in UK hotels

Accor has announced that 194 of its UK hotels will now offer guests free Wi-Fi after research showed that the service is the most important factor for business guests and that 27 per cent of holidaymakers wouldn't stay in a hotel if it didn't offer it.

All Ibis Budget, Ibis, Ibis Styles, Novotel, Mercure, Pullman and MGallery hotels, including those under franchise in the UK, will now offer free Wi-Fi to 512k throughout properties with high speed Wi-Fi available to buy. Formule 1 is the only brand not to offer free Wi-Fi. 

Thomas Dubaere, managing director of Accor UK & Ireland, said the move was a response to growing customer demand.

“Free Wi-Fi has become the norm at many coffee houses or bars but in the past with hotel groups it can vary from property to property, and differ between the public areas to bedrooms. We recognise that guests expect to have free Wi-Fi wherever they are in the hotel and for it to be a quick, high quality connection," he said. 

"This is why we invested across all our brands in the UK in super, fibre-optic Wi-Fi so that guests can use smartphones, tablets, laptops - whatever technology device – at ease, anywhere in the hotel and for no charge.”