Hotels Cater to Business Travelers' Needs

Though you may not know it, you’re the driving force in the hotel industry. That’s because business travelers make up about half of all hotel guests in the United States. As a group, business travelers

Hotels are responding by offering new features and services to lure this increasingly discriminating clientele. Enhanced hotel amenities range from the common sense to the (occasionally) nonsensical. But most have to do with helping you plug in, dial up and log on. Here’s what’s now available at many leading hotel chains.

An Office Away from the Office

• The Hampton Inn & Suites include a second desk chair and larger living rooms for in-room meetings.
• The Ramada Inn offers cordless phones.
• The club floors at Capitol Hotels in Washington, D.C., include separate concierge services and rooms with three phone lines.
• The new 24-hour Xerox Business Center at the Hilton Hawaiian Village provides computer rentals, Internet access and postal services around the clock.
• Printers and fax machines are standard features in business-class rooms at the Hilton, Hyatt and Sheraton hotels.
• Many leading hotels loan laptops to their guests.