What hotel brands rank highest and lowest in customer satisfaction?
Marriott International?wins top spots with four of its brands, but?Wyndham?rates near the bottom except for its?Days Inn/Suites?properties, which beat theEcono Lodge?and?Super 8?in its category, according to a study released Oct. 1 by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
ACSI?surveyed 4,500 guests within three months of their U.S. hotel stays, asking each participant to rate the lodging on such things as his or her experience with reservations, check-in and the staff, as well as the quality of the room, food, in-room entertainment and other amenities. The study covered properties in five categories ? luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, midscale and economy. A perfect score — earned by none of the brands covered ? is 100.
With an 84, the?Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott,?a midscale property, is the highest ranking brand. Just below it is the JW Marriott, earning an 83 in the luxury category.
Some chains notably missing from the ACSI study include the?Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts?as well as?Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts. These brands did not receive enough respondents to be part of the survey.
For the upper-upscale lodgings,?Embassy Suites?(Hilton),?Hyatt Regency?and Marriott Hotels & Resorts tie with a score of 82. Coming in with an 81 in the same category are?Hilton Hotels & Resorts?and?Westin, with Hyatt receiving a 79. Since the study’s margin of error is plus or minus three points, it’s possible to consider these upper-upscale brands as tied.
The Econo Lodge (Choice), an economy property, rates a 59, the study’s lowest score. Of the other economy lodgings, the Super 8 rates 66, but the Days Inn/Suites, earns a 74.
The average hotel brand’s customer satisfaction level is 77. By comparison, ACSI surveys of cable television companies and airlines reveal those industries to be in the low sixties for customer satisfaction.
The best way to use this information? “It helps you figure out what quality of service you want for the price you are willing to pay,” says David VanAmburg, ACSI managing director.