What Hotels Do Consumers Like Best?

Despite rising rates, consumers are relatively satisfied with North American hotels, although they find some room for improvement, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.

The study measures overall hotel guest satisfaction across seven hotel segments: luxury; upper upscale; upscale; mid-scale full service; mid-scale limited service; economy/budget; and extended stay.

Seven key measures

Seven key measures are examined within each segment to determine overall satisfaction: reservations; check-in/check-out; guest room; food and beverage; hotel services; hotel facilities; and costs and fees.

Hotel guest satisfaction with costs and fees is up, despite higher room rates, while satisfaction with other service and product-related aspects has declined amid increasing occupancy rates.

The improvement in hotel guest cost and fee satisfaction, despite higher room rates, runs counter to the general pattern of customers being less satisfied with higher prices. For example, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 North America Airline Satisfaction Study,SM each airline that implemented price increases experienced a decline in satisfaction with fare costs.

“Unlike the airline industry, in which prices were raised aggressively amid limited seat supply and high demand, the hotel industry has enacted more modest price increases and has had spare room capacity,” said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global hospitality and travel practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “The benefits of higher occupancy have outweighed taking a more aggressive posture on average daily rates, as putting ‘heads in beds’ has taken priority.”

Best in class

According to JD Power, here are the favorite hotels, by price classification:

• Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton (for a second consecutive year)
• Upper Upscale: Embassy Suites Hotels
• Upscale: Hotel Indigo
• Mid-Scale Full Service: Holiday Inn
• Mid-Scale Limited Service: Drury Inn & Suites (for a sixth consecutive year)
• Economy/Budget: Microtel Inns & Suites (for a 10th consecutive year)
• Extended Stay: Homewood Suites (for a second consecutive year)

What kind of things contribute to consumer dissatisfaction with a hotel? For James, of Fort Myers, Fla., it's charging for Internet service in the room by a Marriott in Canada.

Internet dissatisfaction

“$15.95 plus tax charge for in room wi-fi is more than an outrage, it is a new low in hotel chiseling and clueless management,” James told ConsumerAffairs.com.

Even at a hotel which advertises free wi-fi, Internet access can be an issue, as Joann, of Studio City, Calif., discovered when she stayed at a Days Inn.

“The hotel room I stayed in had poor and unavailable Internet, although the hotel advertised free Internet, which is the reason I choose the hotel,” Joann told ConsumerAffairs.com. “For the first week the management and IT consultants told me it was my computer that wasn't working. I paid $200 to Best Buy for a service contract. They tested my computer it worked fine. The hotel IT eventually told me they needed to install a router for my room to get service.”

Other complaints about hotels received at ConsumerAffairs.com have recently included dirty rooms, poor security and inconsistent rates.

The JD Power study found that overall, satisfaction with costs and fees has increased 20 points over the 2010 survey. The average daily rate is up four percent, to $101.54, according to Smith Travel Research, Inc.

Perceived value

“The bright spot for hotel guests is that costs and fees remain relatively low, so the value received for the price paid is still quite high,” said Greif. “The bright spot for hoteliers is that there appears to be more upward opportunity on rates.”

For consumers, that may mean hotel rates will continue to go up and occupancy rises.