Overall hotel guest satisfaction decreased slightly year over year, although satisfaction related to cost and fees increased, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.
Overall satisfaction scores in the study, based on responses from more than 61,300 guests staying at North American hotels between May 2010 and May 2011, dropped to 764 on a 1,000-point scale from 771 in last year’s study. Rating criteria include the reservation process, room quality, food and beverage quality, services, facilities and cost. Guests reported lower satisfaction levels with hotel facilities and services, but a 20-point increase in satisfaction with costs and fees tempered this drop.
J.D. Power this year changed the way it classifies brands, adding an upper upscale tier and shifting some brands formerly considered midprice into the upscale tier.
In the luxury tier, guests gave the highest marks to Marriott International’s Ritz-Carlton brand for the second year in a row, with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in a close second. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Loews Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts all scored below the tier’s average.
Hilton Worldwide’s Embassy Suites brand scored highest in the upper upscale tier, followed by last year’s top brand, Omni Hotels & Resorts, and Marriott’s flagship brand. Low scorers in the tier included Starwood’s Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
InterContinental Hotels Group’s relatively new Hotel Indigo brand scored a healthy premium over its competitors in the upscale tier. Hyatt Place, Hilton Garden Inn—the top full-service midprice brand in 2010—and Marriott’s SpringHill Suites also scored well above the tier’s average, while Carlson Hotels’ Radisson and IHG’s Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts trailed the category.
Guests gave top marks to Hilton’s Homewood Suites in the extended stay tier for the second year in a row. Marriott’s Residence Inn and IHG’s Staybridge Suites were within a few points of the top rating.
In the full-service midprice tier, IHG’s Holiday Inn brand earned the top score, followed by Best Western. Drury Inn & Suites topped the midprice limited-service tier for the sixth year in a row, and Hilton’s Hampton Inn and Wingate by Wyndham also scored well above the tier’s average satisfaction score.
Wyndham’s Microtel Inns & Suites scored highest in the economy/budget tier for the 10th year in a row, with almost a 40-point premium above the next-highest brands, Howard Johnson and Days Inn.
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