Guest satisfaction with the underlying hotel experience continues to deteriorate as hoteliers fall further behind guest expectations, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, released last month.
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 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.
Overall guest satisfaction has declined to 757 on a 1,000-point scale, down seven index points from 2011. However, guest satisfaction with the underlying experience has deteriorated much more than this score suggests, as relatively high levels of satisfaction with cost and fees mask declines in other areas of the guest experience.
Satisfaction with check-in/check-out, food and beverage, hotel services and hotel facilities are at new lows since the 2006 study, and satisfaction with guest rooms has declined within one point of its lowest level in the past seven years.
“Charging guests more and providing less is not a winning combination from a guest satisfaction perspective, much less a winning business strategy,” said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “In short, hoteliers are falling further behind and need to catch up.”
Yet it’s not just room rates that affect customer satisfaction with costs and fees; as more than one-half of guests use the Internet during their hotel stay, charges for access can drag down satisfaction. The study finds that 55 percent of hotel guests use the Internet during their hotel stay—an increase from 20 percent in 2006—and 87 percent use Wi-Fi to connect. Among those that use the Internet, only 11 percent are charged an additional fee to connect.
Those that were charged a fee registered an average costs and fee satisfaction score of 688, 76 index points lower than those that were not charged a fee or when the fee was part of the room rate. Complimentary Internet access is more likely included at mid-scale limited service, mid-scale full service, upscale, and economy/budget hotels.
“Guests enjoy Wi-Fi for free in many places outside of their hotel experience, such as in coffee shops, restaurants and other locations, setting expectations against which hotels are compared,” McGregor said. “When guests learn they have to pay for Internet or when connection speeds are slow at a hotel, they are much more dissatisfied than they were in the past.”