What Hotel Guests Really Want

Forget the minibar, sleek lobby, electronic check-out, super-size TV and mints on the pillow.

What we hotel guests really want is a great, comfortable bed and pillows, soft bed linens and a quiet room.

A better-than-expected night’s sleep tops the list for guest satisfaction in all price ranges, from budget to luxury, according to the J. D. Power annual North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study.

Waking up rested and refreshed is more likely to build customer loyalty, the report shows, than a fitful night of fighting with skimpy pillows or a sagging mattress.

If they would ask me, I would also put these things high on the list – would you?

Decent lighting

• by the bed, so I can read myself to sleep, and in the bathroom, so I can actually see my lashes well enough to apply my mascara in the morning.

Convenient plugs

• for my laptop and to recharge my phone and camera batteries. I am so tired of having to climb under a desk or move a night table to plug into the only available outlet.

But they didn’t ask me.  Maybe next time.

Study Rankings

These hotel brands rank highest in guest satisfaction in their respective segments:

Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton (for a fifth consecutive year)
Upper Upscale: Hard Rock Hotel
Upscale: Best Western Premier
Upper Midscale: Drury Hotels (for a 14th consecutive year)
Midscale: Wingate by Wyndham (for a fifth consecutive year)
Economy: Microtel by Wyndham (for a second consecutive year)

Some key findings of the 2019 study:

More zzzs, please:

Overall satisfaction scores increase 114 points (on a 1,000-point scale) when hotel guests experience a better-than-expected quality of sleep.

However, just 29% of hotel guests had such an experience. Of guests who do experience better-than-expected quality of sleep, 78% say they “definitely will” return to that property and 71% say they “definitely will” return to that brand.

The anatomy of a good night’s sleep:

The top contributors to quality of sleep and, therefore, higher satisfaction scores, are comfort of bed; quietness of room; comfort/quality of pillows; room temperature; and comfort/quality of linens.

Satisfaction scores for quality of sleep are also higher when hotels offer beyond-the-basics items, such as white noise/sound machines, earplugs, robe/slippers and authentic local decor.

Quality of sleep and price of room:

The highest rate of better-than-expected sleep quality is in the luxury hotel segment (42%), followed by the upper upscale (33%), upscale (31%), upper midscale (28%), midscale (28%) and economy (23%) segments.

Arrival and check-in experiences:

A positive and efficient check-in experience also gets high hotel guest satisfaction scores. That means five minutes or less, accuracy and offering a warm welcome.

When any of those baseline criteria are not met, satisfaction scores tumble as much as 100 points.

Study background

The 2019 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study analyzes guest responses to more than 150 questions regarding their overall experiences and includes 85 officially ranked brands in six market segments. This year’s study is based on responses from approximately 44,890 guests who stayed at a hotel between June 2018 and May 2019.

For more information about the 2019 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/resource/jd-power-north-america-hotel-guest-satisfaction-index-study.