Increased Satisfaction in Hotel Surveys

Hotels Are Making Us Happy Again, But How?

Source: Hotelchatter.com,  by wakeandwander

According to a study conducted by J.D. Power, hotel guest satisfaction is the highest it's been in seven years after two years of declining scores.

The study was rather extensive, considering seven factors across seven segments, all of which saw increased satisfaction: reservation, check-in/check-out, guest room, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and cost and fees in the luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale full service, midscale, economy/budget, upper extended stay, and extended stay markets.

What's impressive to us about these high scores is the fact that this spike has occurred in spite of steadily increasing rates. According to Forbes, hotel rates have rose 5% this year alone, and we know all about those pesky add-ons like resort fees. Interestingly enough, the study does not go into any particular reasons for the customer satisfaction increase. Rather, it rates properties individually across the aforementioned categories. The reason on a whole, it seems, is still somewhat of a mystery.

That said, it does bring up a few correlations from the data that seem to be associated with happy guests. For example, the study said that a guest's level of interaction with the hotel staff was directly tied to their satisfaction, finding that those who had four or more interactions were the most pleased about their stay. The study also goes out of its way to mention that an interaction with the check-in staff is not included in that number. It seems that, despite this contributor's best effort to advocate for face-to-face check in, people are getting along just fine without it.

Also, it found that guests who select a hotel based solely on price to be less satisfied than someone who books a hotel based on non-monetary criteria. This makes sense intuitively, and we can learn a lesson from it. We all shop around for the best price, but we might be better off spending a few extra dollars to stay at a hotel that peaks our interest beyond the rate.

The main negative pointed out in the study has to do with, not surprisingly, the Internet, as 31% said they had an issue in terms of connection and/or speed. It's amazing to us how hotels still struggle with providing a reliable Internet connection in 2013.

We really dig the advice about making sure you try your best not to simply book a hotel because of the price. Instead, you should pick a hotel within your price range that you are excited about visiting for one reason or another. We think this also brings up a hypothesis for why customers have become more satisfied -- perhaps the increased access to information prior to booking is allowing people to properly vet their properties.