North American Travelers Rebuke Hotels on Quality Issues, Says JD Power Survey

A lot of hotel guests are dissatisfied with customer service and costs, according to study released on Wednesday by JD Power, a market research firm.

A survey of 34,407 hotel guests for stays between May 2021 and May 2022 found a higher level of complaints than the previous comparable period.

Many consumers appear to be irritated about costs and fees, room cleanliness, and staffing. The results come against a backdrop of a hotel sector struggling to handle the post-pandemic surge in demand during a labor crisis.

Key takeaways involve the interplay of cost and quality in consumers' minds:

• "The single biggest factor driving this year’s 8-point decline in overall satisfaction is hotel cost and fees."
• Guest satisfaction with budget and "upper-midscale" properties fell 11 points, the largest decline in years.
• "Another factor driving the decline is satisfaction with guest rooms, which suggests that hotel guests are feeling like they are paying more, but not getting more in return."
• "While hotels still get relatively high satisfaction scores for guest room cleanliness, scores for décor and furnishings, in-room amenities and quality of bathrooms decline from a year ago."