Hilton Shines In J.D. Power Hotel Survey

Hilton Hotels Corp. brands received high customer satisfaction marks in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study, with the company's hotels taking the top slot in three of the six measured tiers.

The study, released in July, used responses from nearly 50,000 hotel patrons to measure satisfaction with reservations, checkin and checkout, rooms, food and beverage offerings, hotel facilities, hotel services and costs and fees. Three Hilton brands topped their tiers: upscale Embassy Suites Hotels, full-service midprice Hilton Garden Inn and extended stay Homewood Suites. Ritz-Carlton ranked highest in the luxury tier, Drury Inn & Suites topped the limited-service midprice tier and Microtel Inns & Suites topped the economy/budget brands.

Both Microtel and Hilton Garden Inn have occupied the top slot for the past six years of the study's 11-year history, and the gap between their scores and those of their nearest competitors is increasing, said Linda Hirneise, executive director of J.D. Power and Associates' travel practice.

"Microtel and Hilton Garden Inn continue to distance themselves from the rest of the competitive environment," Hirneise said. "To continue to increase that gap is remarkable."

The study indicated that the problems hotel guests most frequently reported involved issues with service and staff attitudes. This was particularly true in the luxury tier, in which more than one in five guests mentioned a problem with service. Service increasingly will be the deciding factor in top hotels, Hirneise said. "Virtually every hotel brand out there has put some kind of signature bed in," she said. "At some point, we will have price and product parity. The key differentiator will be the quality of service and the staff."

Satisfaction ratings also are climbing as hotels, boosted by the current seller's market, are spending millions in renovations and brand improvement. It's only the case, however, in brands rolling out those improvements swiftly and brandwide, she said.

J.D. Power this year for the first time added questions about environmental initiatives at hotels, such as whether they have water-saving plumbing or a conservation program on washing towels and linens. More than one-quarter of guests said they didn't know whether a particular hotel had such initiatives in place, which Hirneise said indicated hotels need to do a better job of communicating them.

When guests are aware of environmental initiatives, about three-quarters choose to participate, according to the study. Fairmont Raffles Hotels International's Fairmont and Delta brands scored highest in environmental initiatives, Hirneise said.

Guests also increasingly request smoke-free facilities, according to the study. This year, 82 percent of guests said they favored smoke-free public areas and guest rooms, compared with 79 percent in 2006.