While hotel operators understand guests’ needs and expectations have changed post-pandemic, the fundamentals of providing an excellent guest experience have not really changed over time.
For limited service and economy hotel segments, the guest room is “king” (pun intended). These types of hotels offer a basic service—a place for travelers to lay their heads when away from home. Guests come to expect few if any added amenities, so when the guest room experience is sub-par, hoteliers should expect a negative impact on overall stay satisfaction. Full-service hotels, on the other hand, are challenged to provide much more than a good guest room experience. The guest room is a “table stake” for Upper Upscale and Luxury brands, with staff service, food and beverage, and the property itself taking on a larger role in overall guest satisfaction.
How Do We Know?
J.D. Power has been measuring hotel guest satisfaction for nearly three decades. Through disasters, recessions, financial crises, and inflation--we continue to ask guests about their stays at branded hotels. J.D. Power has captured guest feedback on guest rooms, staff service, the hotel facility, and F&B for most of this time. While the J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index (NAGSI) Study has been updated over the years, we still obtain guest feedback on the “basics” of the stay experience. For example, J.D. Power has 28 years of satisfaction ratings for guest room cleanliness- and to this day, cleanliness continues to be the biggest driver of guest room satisfaction.
Beyond the Basics
The Study goes beyond the basics to track guest “need-to-haves" and “nice-to-haves" when it comes to hotel features and amenities. Do guests still care about complimentary breakfast at limited service hotels? Are wellness amenities an absolute must-have for luxury hotel guests? Answers to these questions and many more can be found in the Study results.
The Study also includes questions surrounding relevant emerging topics and trends, such as new hotel technologies and innovations. For example, starting in 2023, we began to capture the percentage of guests using voice assistant devices or accessing streaming services in the guest room. We also began to track the percentage of guests charging their electric vehicles at the hotel (it’s 5% of all guests by the way!)
The Importance of Hotel Staff on Guest Experience
Despite the hiring challenges faced by hotels after the pandemic, the pace of hiring in the Leisure and Hospitality sector has been positive every month since—and our data shows guests are experiencing better service because of this. The 2023 J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study found that staff service garners the highest level of satisfaction among all factors including guest room, hotel facility, and food and beverage. In fact, positive guest ratings for staff service are linked to a lower incidence of guests experiencing a problem during the stay, with 86% of hotel guests saying they experienced no problems during their stay.
Value for Money
One thing that has not changed over the years: Value for money remains crucial to guest satisfaction. The Study asks hotel guests to rate the hotel’s “value for prices paid given quality and service received," a factor that remains top of mind for hotel guests. It is important to note that this does not reflect the actual amount spent at a hotel (a $500-per-night hotel can just as easily receive a low value rating as a $100-per-night hotel can receive a high value rating). Not surprisingly, value for money reflects all parts of the stay experience. When guests have a negative experience with the guest rooms, food, or staff service, it negatively impacts perceptions of value received. Overall satisfaction among guests who rate the value for price paid as excellent or perfect (on a scale of poor to perfect) was 302 points higher than among guests who do not.
State of the Industry
J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study results not only provide a view of the guest experience, they provide a window into the overall health of the industry. Are hotel operators hiring enough staff to clean rooms, fix leaks, and respond to guests’ requests? Are operators keeping up with investments in new carpet, HVAC units, kitchen equipment, and—importantly—guest-facing technology? While Study results often focus on where the industry needs to improve, results also indicate which hotel operators are getting it right, whether that is through consistent adherence to brand standards for hotel franchisees or through excellence in hotel staff service. For decades, J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study results have provided global hotel companies and franchised hotel owners and operators with these and other critical business insights.
What's Next?
In 2023, hotel occupancy was on track to meet or beat pre-pandemic levels, and travelers were willing to pay the higher hotel room rates. However, in the first quarter of 2024, demand for hotel rooms is generally flat year-over-year.** What does this mean for the industry? Will the 2024 results show significant changes year-over-year?
Find out when the results of the 2024 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study are shared publicly on July 16th. Then, join us as we unpack the data at the results webinar on July 17th. Register now >>
*Between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2024 , J.D. Power Polaris Financial Health Report, June 2024
** Source: Costar/STR