Why Does Hotel Guest Satisfaction Go Up During Downturn?

The J.D. Powers 2010 Hotel Survey reveals that consumers feel more satisfied with their hotel stays during downturn. The spokesperson of J.D. Powers provides three possible reasons that drive higher guest satisfaction. Those explanations include:

• There are fewer people on the road, which makes hotel facilities more accessible to guests.
• Hotel rates fall during downturn. Generally, guests tend to feel more satisfied with lower price.
• Hotels provide better guest service when facing tougher competition.

I would like to add two more alternatives:
• More hotels offer value-added products and service to attract more travelers, such as “bed & breakfast” package, “weekend family getaway” package, etc. Guests may feel more satisfied with higher value.
• The record high unemployment rate may push hotel employees to work harder.

While this news article provides some interesting findings, I feel the survey reveals some bias results (winners). For example, it only picked the winner of luxury hotel segment by comparing three brands: Four Seasons, The Ritz Carlton, and Loews Hotels. As a result, I am not going to share the winner of each category with you. I believe we know what we want. So, what’s your favorite?

References:
USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok07282010
Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok07282010P

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Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

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