Traveler satisfaction with hotels is at the highest level in
seven years, according to the most recent J.D. Power study. Based on responses
from almost 70,000 hotel guests in the United States and Canada, the study
found that overall satisfaction was up 20 points from last year, to a score of
777 out of 1,000, the highest score since 2006. Satisfaction ratings were higher
within each of the seven factors J.D. Power uses to rate hotels: reservations,
check-in and checkout experience, guest rooms, food and beverage, services,
facilities and costs and fees.
"Many hotel chains are finally benefitting from the
long-term investments they have been making to improve their properties in
terms of staffing, rooms and facilities," according to J.D. Power global
travel and hospitality practice lead Rick Garlick. "Furthermore, cost and
fees satisfaction has increased while the factor has simultaneously declined in
relative importance to overall satisfaction across all segments, indicating
reduced price sensitivity among guests."
The study also determined that Internet speed and
connectivity problems were the most frequent gripe reported by hotel guests.
Among individual brands, Ritz-Carlton for the fourth year in
a row scored the highest in the luxury tier, earning 881 points. Four Seasons
Hotels and Resorts was close behind, while Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Hotels
& Resorts and the JW Marriott brand also scored above the tier's average.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts earned
the lowest scores in the tier, though both were within about 20 points of the
tier average.
In the upper upscale tier, Kimpton Hotels earned the highest
score at 845 points. Last year's top upper upscale brand, Omni Hotels &
Resorts was 10 points behind, and Embassy Suites and Marriott also both scored
higher than average in the tier. Despite massive investment in recent years by
parent company Starwood, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts remained at the bottom
of the tier, although like most other hotels in the tier, it received a significantly
improved satisfaction score versus the prior year.
Hyatt Place scored the highest in the upscale tier, earning
831 points. Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott's SpringHill Suites, both of which
tied for the top spot among upscale hotels last year, were within a few points
of Hyatt Place this year, and IHG's Hotel Indigo and Starwood's Aloft also
received higher-than-average scores in the category. Carlson's Radisson brand,
while still below the tier average, improved its score by 34 points compared
with last year, the highest increase in the category, and moved up from its
last place finish in 2012 by surpassing Delta Hotels and Resorts, IHG's Crowne
Plaza brand and Starwood's Four Points by Sheraton brand.
Travelers for the third year in a row rated Holiday Inn as the
top midprice full-service brand, generating a score of 788 points. Two Wyndham
brands, Ramada and Howard Johnson, ranked at the bottom of the tier, both
scoring about 50 points below the tier's average.
In the midprice tier, Drury Hotels earned 858 points,
placing it at the top of the tier for the eighth year in a row. Other
high-scoring midprice brands included Hampton Inn, Wingate by Wyndham,
Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Choice's Quality brand and Wyndham's
Baymont and Ramada Limited brands scored lowest in the tier.
Hilton's Homewood Suites, the top extended-stay brand in the
past three years, earned the highest score this year in the upscale
extended-stay tier at 845. Hyatt House placed a mere one point behind it. IHG's
Staybridge Suites was third, followed by Marriott's Residence Inn. Wyndham's
Hawthorn Suites trailed in the tier.
In the midprice extended-stay tier, Marriott's TownePlace
Suites earned the top score of 819, followed by IHG's Candlewood Suites.
Extended Stay America rated lowest in the tier, about 20 points below the
average. J.D. Power in previous studies did not separate upscale and midprice
extended-stay brands.
In the economy tier, Wyndham's Microtel Inn & Suites
returned as the top brand with a score of 756, more than 40 points higher than
the second-place brand, Red Roof Inn. Jameson Inn—which saw a large portion of
its properties reflagged earlier this year and was not rated in the 2013
study—was the top brand last year, but Microtel had that honor in the 10 prior
years.