Hotels boast real staying ‘Power’ in survey
Which hotel brands satisfy customers the most? And how do they do it?
The J.D. Power 2019 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study results released Wednesday aimed to answer those questions.
J.D. Power, a research and consulting firm, analyzed responses from approximately 44,890 consumers to more than 150 questions regarding their overall experiences. The study, in its 23rd year, includes 85 officially ranked brands in six market segments and is based on responses from guests who stayed at a hotel between June 2018 and May 2019.
Here are the hotel brands that ranked the highest in overall guest satisfaction in their respective segments:
❚ Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton (for a fifth consecutive year)
❚ Upper Upscale: Hard Rock Hotel
❚ Upscale: Best Western Premier
❚ Upper Midscale: Drury Hotels (for a 14th consecutive year)
❚ Midscale: Wingate by Wyndham (for a fifth consecutive year)
❚ Economy: Microtel by Wyndham (for a second consecutive year)
What’s most important?
According to the study, quality of sleep is the most important part of a guest’s hotel stay.
Although that may not come as a surprise, most say they’re not getting it.
Only 29% of hotel guests surveyed experienced a better-than-expected quality of sleep. Of those, 78% said they “definitely will” return to that property and 71% said they “definitely will” return to that brand.
“Of all the discrete variables of the hotel guest experience we measure, a better-than-expected night’s sleep is the one with the potential to drive the highest levels of overall guest satisfaction for those hotels that can deliver,” said Jennifer Corwin in a press release. Corwin is senior manager of consumer insights for travel & hospitality intelligence at J.D. Power.
Top contributors to quality of sleep included comfort of the bed, quietness of the room, comfort and quality of pillows and linens and the room’s temperature. Guest satisfaction scores were higher when hotels offered items that went beyond the basics, such as whitenoise machines, earplugs, a robe, slippers and local decor.