Guests Are More Satisfied at Hotels That Are Mobile Friendly
Photo Credit: The newest J.D. Power and Associates study on hotel guest satisfaction in North America suggests hotels should be paying more attention to mobile apps, bookings, marketing, and loyalty. Pictured is Marriott's app on iOS. Skift
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Where online travel agencies make it easy for guests to book hotel rooms from their smartphones, hotels need to do a much better job if they want more direct bookings. And they need to make better apps while they're at it.
J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study and the biggest takeaway for hoteliers is this: pay more attention to mobile. Hotels that incorporate mobile apps and functionality into a hotel stay have higher guest satisfaction. And they are more likely to increase their number of direct bookings if they focus on mobile.
The catch, however, is that hotels also need to encourage more guests to download their mobile apps, as well as add more loyalty members to their respective programs.
"As mobile usage becomes increasingly ubiquitous for guests, the challenge for hotels becomes twofold: First, they must persuade guests to book directly with them, and second, they must encourage easy utilization of this technology," Rick Garlick, practice lead, travel and hospitality at J.D. Power said. "By forging direct relationships, hotels can become guardians of the guest experience, but at the center of these relationships is an establish
