Hotel values abound with readily available discount hotel rooms and cheap vacation packages. A recent J.D. Power and Associates 2011 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study found that hotel guests tend to be more upset with their hotel experiences than with hotel prices.
Over 61,000 Americans and Canadians who stayed in a hotel in the U.S. between May 2010 and May 2011 were surveyed. Their overall hotel satisfaction score fell to 764 (out of 1,000) in 2011 vs. 771 in 2010.
The following were the highest scoring hotels in seven different categories:
Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton (858)
Upper Upscale: Embassy Suites Hotels (817)
Upscale: Hotel Indigo
Mid-Scale Full Service: Holiday Inn (775)
Mid-Scale Limited Service: Drury Inn & Suites (836)
Economy/Budget: Microtel Inns & Suites (740
Extended Stay: Homewood Suites (821)
Overall guest satisfaction with services, facilities and operations fell in 2011, while satisfaction with hotel costs and fees rose 30 points to 739. Hotels have been slow to increase room rates even with demand rising.
Airlines have aggressively raised their ticket prices, in part because of limited seat supply and growing demand vs. hotels which have implemented more conservative price hikes in the face of continuing spare room capacity.
Many hotel chains are currently making investments that were deferred during the recession and held off hiring more help until they became confident the improving level of demand for rooms would continue. www.cheapfares.com