North American hotels' increase in staffing and a focus on customer service is paying dividends in the form of guest satisfaction, according to a new J.D. Power survey.
Overall guest satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2023 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study totaled at 655 on a 1,000-point scale. However, satisfaction with hotel staff scored at 701—the highest scoring factor in this year's study, underscoring "the critical role that frontline staff play in defining the guest experience," J.D. Power hospitality practice lead Andrea Stokes said in a statement.
Hotels are providing a "generally positive hotel stay experience," report authors wrote. About 86 percent of hotel guest respondents experienced "no problems" during their stay, which the report attributed to hotel staff and services, a level "on par" with 2022, Stokes told BTN. Guest satisfaction also can be credited to a hospitality hiring surge during the past 12 months, according to the report.
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/Lodging/Table-2023JDPowerHotelIndexChart_v2.jpg "2023-07-27 JD Power Hotel Guest Satisfaction")
"Hotel hiring continues to increase and leisure and hospitality is the 'rock star' among industries reported in monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment figures," Stokes said in a statement. She added that the boost in hotel staffing resulted in "high customer satisfaction scores."
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The study measures overall customer satisfaction in six factors: communication and connectivity, food and beverage, guest room, hotel facility, staff service and price value.
The survey was "redesigned in 2023," according to J.D. Power, and as a result guest satisfaction scores that were seemingly down against 2022 metrics across each hotel segment. The redesigned elements of the study include the point system, which respondents used to score on a 10-point scale, but now respond on a six-point worded scale, which allows for "better insight," Stokes told BTN. The company "removed some criteria and added others," she added.
"While 2023 study updates do not allow us to compare overall guest satisfaction to 2022, we do see general stability in guests’ likelihood to recommend the hotel brand to others," Stokes told BTN via email.
Some brands within individual tiers were repeat winners, including Hard Rock Hotels topping the upper-upscale segment for the third consecutive year. Hyatt House led the upscale extended-stay segment for the second straight year.
The study was comprised of responses from 33,754 hotel guests based on stays between May 2022 and May 2023, covering the performance of 102 brands across nine market segments.
RELATED: J.D. Power 2022 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study