Travelers rated Ritz-Carlton, Omni Hotels, Hilton Garden
Inn, Drury Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns & Suites and Homewood Suites the
top brands in their respective tiers in J.D. Power and Associates' 2010 North
America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, released in late July.
Every tier, on average, improved its satisfaction score
compared with the 2009 study, according to J.D. Power. The midprice and
extended stay tiers saw the greatest increases, and guest satisfaction improved
the most with reservations, guest room quality and the costs and fees across
all tiers.
The study, now in its 14th year, tabulated responses from
more than 53,000 guests who stayed at a hotel between May 2009 and June 2010.
Guests rated hotels on reservations, checkin and checkout procedures, room
quality, food and beverage quality, the hotel's services and facilities and
ancillary costs and fees.
"Occupancy and average daily rate are down for many of
the brands, but satisfaction is up, and this is stemming back from 2009,"
according to J.D. Power and Associates global hospitality and travel practice
director Mark Schwartz.
In the luxury tier, Ritz-Carlton scored 861 on a 1,000-point
scale, besting last year's top brand, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which
scored 848 points. Marriott International's JW Marriott brand also secured a
score above the tier average of 830, while Fairmont Hotels & Resorts,
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels and Loews Hotels all drew
scores below the tier's average.
Omni Hotels topped the upscale segment with a score of 817.
It was followed by Hilton Worldwide's Embassy Suites brand, which had led the
tier for three years prior. Other high scorers in the tier included Marriott's
Renaissance brand and flagship brand and Starwood Hotels & Resorts' Westin
brand and newly introduced Aloft brand.
In the extended stay tier, Hilton's Homewood Suites brand
overtook last year's top brand, InterContinental Hotels Group's Staybridge
Suites, though both improved their scores compared with last year, Schwartz
said. Marriott's Residence Inn brand rounded out the top three in that tier.
Hilton Garden Inn topped the midprice full-service tier for
the second year in a row, scoring 817 points. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts' rapidly
growing Hyatt Place brand was close behind, and Marriott's Courtyard brand,
Starwood's Four Points by Sheraton brand and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts'
Wyndham Garden Hotels also scored above the tier's average.
In the midprice limited-service tier, Drury Inn & Suites
scored the highest in its tier for the fifth year in a row. Several other
brands also received scores that were above the tier's average. They included
Marriott's SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn, Hilton's Hampton Inn, Wyndham's
Wingate and InterContinental's Holiday Inn Express.
Microtel Inns & Suites continued its long reign on top
of the economy/budget tier, earning top marks for the ninth year in a row.
Wyndham's Howard Johnson Express brand and Red Roof Inn also earned high marks.
Howard Johnson saw one of the largest overall improvements compared with last year's
score, Schwartz said.
This story originally
appeared in the August 9, 2010, edition of Business Travel News.