When working abroad, business travellers are armed with at least three mobile devices to stay connected to the office and home, are more inclined to carry a tablet than a laptop and prefer to call home on video chat.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc group Four Points by Sheraton, surveyed the mobile device habits of 6,000 business travellers worldwide to get a better understanding of what customers want and need as part of its commitment to remain the “best for business”.

Results found offering complimentary WiFi or in-room internet access was paramount to ensure travellers can stay connected to the home or office on their mobile devices.

Starwood’s senior vice president, specialty select brands Brian McGuinness said the survey contains compelling results, including evidence that trends such as staying in touch with family via video chat, over email, text and phone are accelerating.

“Complimentary in-room Internet access is provided across the entire North American division,” Mr McGuinness said.

“The study affirms that the Four Points brand is meeting a continued need by offering complimentary WiFi or in-room Internet access, and by continuing to expand bandwidth throughout the portfolio,” the senior vice president continued.

Findings also revealed Smartphones were the number one device business travellers are glued to, with more than half of respondents turning their phone on immediately after landing.

Tablets are a close second on the list with seven in 10 respondents preferring them to laptops, followed by music players, laptops and cameras.

After waking in the morning, checking their smartphone is the first thing respondents do, followed by turning on the TV, taking a shower and checking social media like Facebook and Twitter.

 When it comes to staying in contact with family and friends, nothing beats face time, with more than half of business travellers preferring to video chat/conference versus sending an email or picking up the phone.

Intriguingly, the majority of respondents report that they engage in a surprise sexy video chat with their spouse/partner while travelling.