hospitality

Hotel Guests Happier This Year Than Last

Four Seasons Hotel Despite the sluggish travel economy, consumers are happier with their hotel visits this year than last. J.D. Power and Associates reports that, even with reduced operating spend and reduced staff, hotel satisfaction is up over 2008, per the firm's North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.

The study, which is in its 13th year, measures guest satisfaction in six categories: luxury, upscale, mid-scale full service, mid-scale limited service, economy/budget and extended-stay hotels. Within each of those segments, it rates customer satisfaction on several parameters like reservations; check-in/check-out; guest room; food and beverage; hotel services; hotel facilities; and costs and fees.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the top-scoring luxury brand in the survey, based on responses gathered between June 2008 and June 2009 from more than 66,000 guests who stayed in a hotel between May 2008 and June 2009.

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For the third consecutive year, Embassy Suites was the top upscale hotel. Hilton Garden Inn topped mid-scale full-service hotels, while Drury Inn and Suites was the top mid-scale limited-service hotel for the fourth year in a row. Wyndham Worldwide's Microtel Inns & Suites was, for the eighth year in a row, the top economy hotel. InterContinental's Staybridge Suites was the top extended-stay brand.

J.D. Power says that of the six market segments, scores for four of them -- upscale, mid-scale full service, mid-scale limited service and economy/budget -- improved. Guest satisfaction with luxury hotels was unchanged from last year, while satisfaction with extended-stay properties has deceased slightly. Across all segments, satisfaction with the reservations and check in/check out measures has improved, while satisfaction with guest rooms has declined.

"We are attributing that to the economy and cost cuts," says Michael Drago, director of the global hospitality and travel practice at J.D. Power, "one of which has been putting off renovation -- and technology [such as flat-screen TV] is being postponed by many brands."

Bedding and pillow choices and free parking made it to the top five "must-have" amenities for the first time since the study began in 1997. Other amenities that guests said were required for satisfaction were complimentary breakfast, and wireless Internet access. Within the luxury segment, a high percentage of guests express the desire for in-room high-definition flat-panel TVs.

"These are the things that a guest looking for a hotel says must be part of the package to get on the radar," says Drago, adding that luxury hotels fall short in the free parking area. In the hospitality industry overall, one in 10 customers pays for parking, per Drago, while over a third of customers in the luxury segment are paying for parking.

Interpersonal service is sacrosanct to the smart hoteliers, per Drago. "Lots of cuts have been in hard costs, but delivering service doesn't traditionally cost a lot -- it's more of an attitude, a mind-set and philosophy." He notes that the average hotel stay involves few interactions with staff, which paradoxically raises the value of such face-to-face dealings.

"Touchpoints are limited, so to spend three minutes welcoming a guest by name, offering to be of assistance, helping to assimilate them to the property, find a place to eat -- these aren't hard-cash expenses; they happen in a two- or three-minute window but can help differentiate one hotel experience from another." And, he says, the real point of difference between good and great is that while many hotel chains do very well in a number of their properties, "elite brands are consistent across properties."

So, which hotel chain has the most satisfied customers, regardless of segment? "If we were to put all of them together, the number one brand, the one with the highest satisfaction is Four Seasons," he says. Second place is Ritz-Carlton. Then third and fourth are the less upscale Drury Inn and Embassy Suites.

The study also found that guests are more aware of green programs, with 66% of guests saying they were aware of their hotel's conservation efforts, versus 57% in 2008. Among these guests, 72% say they participated in their hotel's conservation programs.

The study also suggests that customers experienced higher satisfaction when they were aware that the hotel has green programs. The firm says satisfaction is more than 160 points higher among guests who said they were aware of their hotel's green programs, versus guests who are unaware of them.

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