COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wi-Fi trumps free food any day, according to a new survey by Research+Data.

The survey found that travellers place in-room Wi-Fi as more important than a hotel’s location, parking and even complimentary breakfast. However, cost still ranked higher than Wi-Fi, proving that travellers are still budget-conscious when booking a hotel stay.

With this in mind, Red Roof Inn is taking their Wi-Fi service to new levels at their hotels across the United States, increasing high speeds to allow guests to stream their favourite movies, video games and music. To date, properties in Statesville, NC, Washington DC-Manassas and Syracuse, NY have been audited, verified and qualified for certification based on their audit results.”

“Fast. Free. Verified. That’s our goal for Red Roof Wi-Fi across the country,” says Andrew Alexander, President, Red Roof. “We have listened to our guests and have responded to their immediate needs when choosing where to stay. Whether it’s a business traveller who needs Wi-Fi to stay connected on the road or a Millennial who wants to stream music or play video games, high speed Wi-Fi is integral to today’s traveller no matter who they are.”

The Verified Wi-Fi initiative is starting now in a test phase. Red Roof has already upgraded at some properties and will start communicating that to travellers with advertising on properties that have billboards with the “Verified Wi-Fi” logo touting “Fast + Free.”

The Research+Data Insights survey found that 80% of economy travellers have a more favorable opinion of a hotel offering complimentary Wi-Fi with guaranteed speeds. It also found that Millennials are two times more likely than other age groups to stream video or music and play online games using hotel Wi-Fi.

Red Roof has seen significant growth both domestically and internationally with two new properties in Brazil within the last year, and most recently another in Osaka, Japan. There are now 40 PLUS+ properties in the U.S. with a total of 50 expected by the end of the year. Red Roof expects to end 2016 with 500 properties in its portfolio.