Hotels, like airports, are crowded once again.
Indeed, as Americans pack hotels for the second straight summer, they continue to push occupancy levels toward those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider, for instance, that U.S. hotel occupancy in 2023 is on track to reach 63.8 percent, which is just short of 65.9 percent occupancy in 2019, research firm J.D. Power explains.
The good news is that hotels have been hiring staff so they are prepared to accommodate that surge in demand. In fact, staff service was ranked highest among all the factors measured in the new J.D. Power 2023 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.
“Hotel hiring continues to increase, and leisure and hospitality is the ‘rock star’ among industries reported in monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment figures,” Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power, told TravelAwaits in a statement. “This boost in hotel staffing is showing up in the form of high customer satisfaction scores. Staff service is now the highest-scoring factor in this study across all hotel segments from economy to luxury, underscoring the critical role that frontline staff play in defining the guest experience.”
The J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, which has been conducted by the firm for 27 years, measures overall customer satisfaction based on performance in six factors: communications and connectivity, food and beverage, guest room, hotel facility, staff service, and value for price.
Based on responses from 33,754 guests who stayed in hotels between May 2022 and May 2023, the study measures the performance of 102 hotel brands in nine market segments.
The Study’s Key Findings
Overall satisfaction with hotel staff was the highest-scoring factor in this year’s study. Hotel staff performance played a significant role in that score, especially because they are instrumental in both preventing and resolving problems for guests. Consequently, 86 percent of the survey’s participants said they didn’t experience any problems during their stay.
As you would expect, perceived value also plays a significant part in guest satisfaction. For example, overall satisfaction among guests who rated the value for the price they paid on their hotel room as “excellent” or “prefect” was 302 points higher than travelers who didn’t rate their rooms well considering the price they paid.
The Hotels With The Highest Scores
The J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study measures performance of hotels across nine market segments: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upscale extended stay, upper midscale, upper midscale/midscale extended stay, midscale, economy, and economy extended stay hotels.
Here are the hotels with the highest guest satisfaction ranking for each market segment, according to the J.D. Power 2023 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study:
- Luxury: Waldorf Astoria
- Upper Upscale: Hard Rock Hotels and Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts have tied for the third consecutive year.
- Upscale: Cambria Hotels & Suites
- Upscale Extended Stay: Hyatt House, for the second consecutive year.
- Upper Midscale: Trademark Collection by Wyndham
- Upper Midscale/Midscale Extended Stay: Home2 Suites by Hilton
- Midscale: Tru by Hilton
- Economy: Americas Best Value Inn and Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham tied for first place.
- Economy Extended Stay: WoodSpring Suites
For more about hotels, be sure to also read all our Hotels and Resorts content, including:
