Guest satisfaction with North American hotels, as measured by J.D. Power, reached a historic high this year, the company reported Wednesday.
The firm's 2014 North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, which tabulated responses from more than 67,000 guests who stayed at hotels in North America between May 2013 and May 2014, reported an overall satisfaction score of 784 on a 1,000-point scale, up from 777 in 2013 and the highest score since J.D. Power adopted its current methodology in 2006. Overall satisfaction was stable in the extended-stay tiers and showed "significant improvement" in all other tiers, according to the firm.
Satisfaction scores combine guests' ratings on seven factors: reservations, the check-in and checkout process, rooms, food and beverage services, hotel services, hotel facilities and cost and fees.
Brand Results
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts earned the highest overall score, 886, in the luxury tier. Marriott International's Ritz-Carlton brand (879) and Hilton Worldwide's Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts collection (854) also scored above the tier's average score. Grand Hyatt/Park Hyatt Hotels (831), W Hotels (830) and Loews Hotels & Resorts (827) scored lowest in the tier.
In the upper upscale tier, Kimpton Hotels scored the highest (847) for the second year in a row, followed closely by Omni Hotels & Resorts (843). Other high-scoring upper upscale brands included Hilton's Embassy Suites (830), Marriott Hotels & Resorts (830) and Marriott's Renaissance brand (828). Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (805) and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (795) trailed the tier.
Hilton Garden Inn (836), InterContinental Hotels Group's Hotel Indigo (835) and Hyatt Place (832) earned the highest scores in the upscale segment. The bottom brands in the tier included Radisson (794), Crowne Plaza (791), Coast Hotels (784) and Four Points by Sheraton (778).
In the full-service midscale segment, IHG's Holiday Inn brand (793) earned the highest score for the fourth consecutive year and was almost 40 points higher than any other brand in the category. Wyndham's Ramada/Ramada Plaza (723) and Howard Johnson (721) brands scored lowest in the tier.
Midscale hotels had the largest year-over-year improvement in their average score, according to J.D. Power, and Drury Hotels (855) earned the top score in the tier for its ninth consecutive year. Other high-scoring midprice hotels included Hilton's Hampton Inn & Suites (835), IHG's Holiday Inn Express (816) and Marriott's Fairfield Inn & Suites (815). The lowest-scoring midprice brands included Baymont Inn & Suites (750), Quality (748) and Ramada Limited (726).
In the extended-stay tiers, Hilton's Homewood Suites brand (843) earned the top score among upscale brands for the second year in a row, and IHG's Candlewood Suites (804) was the top-rated midscale brand, followed closely by Marriott's TownePlace Suites (802) and Wyndham's Hawthorn Suites (797). IHG's Staybridge Suites (832) was the lowest scoring upscale extended stay brand, though only 11 points separated the top and bottom brands in the tier. Extended Stay America (722) earned the lowest score in the midscale tier.
Wyndham's Microtel Inn & Suites (751) earned the top satisfaction score among economy hotels for the second year in a row. Red Roof Inn (723) and Wyndham's Days Inn (710) also earned above-average scores in the tier. The lowest-scoring economy brands were Rodeway Inn (652) and Knights Inn (645).