In 2016, it should come as no surprise that in-room Wi-Fi is the most common ancillary service purchased by American travelers.
However, interestingly, priority boarding is the travel ancillary most would rather forgo.
According to the Online Benchmark Recontact Omnibus Survey of nearly 10,000 U.S. adults conducted by travel technology company Switchfly in conjunction with Forrester, more than half of Americans (53 percent) would single out priority boarding as the one ancillary travel service they have no intention of purchasing.
Meanwhile, 18 percent of respondents indicated that they've purchased in-room Wi-Fi at least once in the past year, making it the most commonly purchased ancillary service.
Trailing Internet service as the most commonly purchased travel ancillaries among Americans are ground transportation (14 percent), airport shuttles (13 percent), extra bags (12 percent), upgraded seating (10 percent), priority boarding/in-flight Wi-Fi/in-flight media (9 percent) and in-room services (8 percent), such as massages and mini bar access.
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"We've found that travelers want their ancillary services on their own terms, and they want to be able to pick and choose the services they do and don't want, like in-room Wi-Fi or ground transportation," said Switchfly CEO Daniel Farrar in a statement. "This survey helps us recognize what Americans are really looking for."
After priority boarding, the ancillary services travelers would rather go without include extra bags (51 percent), upgraded seating/in-flight Wi-Fi/in-flight media (50 percent), ground transportation (44 percent) and airport shuttles (43 percent).
Unsurprisingly, in-room Wi-Fi (40 percent) is the last travel ancillary Americans would prefer to be without.
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When it comes to the ancillary services American travelers are most unaware of, in-room Wi-Fi also ranks at the bottom, with only 16 percent of respondents admitting they've never heard of it.
Airport shuttles (23 percent), in-room services (20 percent) and in-flight Wi-Fi (19 percent) are the most overlooked travel ancillaries, according to the survey, followed by priority boarding, ground transportation, in-flight media and extra bags (18 percent each) and upgraded seating (17 percent).
Regardless of what services their purchasing, nearly half of Americans (44 percent) are in agreement that it's important to be able to purchase them with loyalty points. Meanwhile, more than one-third (36 percent) believe its important to be able to purchase them from any device.
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