Travelers rated Ritz-Carlton, Omni Hotels, Holiday Inn, Drury Hotels, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, SpringHill Suites and Jameson Inn as the top brands in their respective segments in J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, released yesterday.
For the third consecutive year, Ritz-Carlton placed first in the luxury segment with a score of 864 out of a possible 1,000 points. Omni placed first in the upper upscale segment, with a score of 811. Hilton Garden Inn and SpringHill Suites tied in the upscale segment, with a score of 811. Holiday Inn triumphed in the mid-scale full-service segment, with 766 points. Drury Hotels ranked first in the mid-scale limited-service segment, with 841 points. Finally, Jameson Inn was tops in the economy/budget segment, with 751 points, and Homewood Suites in the extended stay segment, with 838 points.
Despite the good news for individual brands, results for the industry as a whole were less than stellar: Overall, guest satisfaction across all segments declined to 757 on a 1,000-point scale, down seven index points from the 2011 study. Guest satisfaction with the underlying experience, however, has deteriorated "much more than this score suggests," according to J.D. Power and Associates, which said relatively high levels of satisfaction with cost and fees "mask" declines in other areas of the guest experience — including satisfaction with check-in/check-out, food and beverage, hotel services and hotel facilities, which are at new lows since the 2006 study, and satisfaction with guest room, which has declined within one point of its lowest level in the past seven years.
"As the industry continues to recover and rates increase, hoteliers need to get back to the fundamentals and improve the overall guest experience," said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "Charging guests more and providing less is not a winning combination from a guest satisfaction perspective, much less a winning business strategy. In short, hoteliers are falling further behind and need to catch up."
The J.D. Power study, now in its 16th year, is based on a survey of more than 61,700 hotel guests who stayed at a hotel between June 2011 and May 2012. Guests rated hotels on reservations, check-in and check-out procedures, room quality, food and beverage quality, the hotel's services and facilities, ancillary costs and fees, and staff. For full results and complete rankings, visit www.jdpower.com.