5 Big Takeaways for Hoteliers From This Year’s J.D. Power Hotel Guest Satisfaction Rankings

This year’s annual J.D. Power rankings for North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction are out and even though guest satisfaction with hotels in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico has reached a record high in 2016, it’s doubtful that we’ll see the same results next year. “My personal prediction is that, probably, next year, we might see a decline in guest satisfaction,” Rick Garlick, global travel and hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power, said. Garlick said that free hotel perks like Wi-Fi, breakfast, and upgraded room amenities have boosted guest satisfaction in the past few years, but “they are no longer new and interesting.” He said, “Guests are asking, ‘what have you done for me lately?’ But at most price points, hotels have already done as much as they can do in terms of updating their product. So now they need to find ways to offer additional value to their guests.” J.D. Power’s 2016 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, conducted between June 2015 and May 2016, compiled responses from more than 63,000 guests in Canada and the U.S. who stayed at a hotel in North America between May 2015 and May 2016. It looks at eight different hotel segments and calculates a score based on a 1,000-point scale, examining ease of reservation; check-in/check-out experience; guest room; food & beverage; hotel services; hotel facilities; and cost and fees. This year’s data relating to cost and fees, in particular, pointed to a “plateau” in terms of guest satisfaction, Garlick noted. “There was virtually no increase in guest satisfaction with cost and fees this year. Hotels have hit a ceiling in terms of the added value of the customer experience at the price points they are working in.” The one exception, he said, was the luxury segment, where satisfaction with cost and fees rose 20 points in comparison to last year’s study. Luxury hotels “are still finding additional way