AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--Jan. 7, 1998 / The results of the second annual Frequent Flyer Magazine/J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Domestic Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study--Upscale Hotel Chains(SM) reveals that frequent business travelers rank Renaissance hotels at the top. Following Renaissance's lead is last year's top upscale hotel chain Westin, with Hyatt and Marriott tied for third place. Luxury, mid-price, economy, and budget chains were not ranked in this study.
Similar to last year's results, satisfaction with the Guest Room is
the single most important factor contributing to
overall satisfaction (28%), followed by satisfaction with the Arrival
Process (20%) and the Price/Value of the
overall experience (19%). A new factor, Hotel Service, emerged this
year and contributes 13% to guest
satisfaction. This factor includes frequent guest programs, hotel security
and safety, and wake-up calls.
Departure (12%) and Food and Beverage (8%) are the remaining drivers
of overall satisfaction with the upscale
experience.
Renaissance moved to first place in this year's study, from second place
last year and now leads the industry in
three key areas: Arrival, Price/Value, and Food and Beverage. Renaissance
also improved significantly in the
Departure process this year. Westin's performance is primarily attributed
to its continued leadership in the Guest
Room factor.
"Frequent business travelers are a unique breed, with equally unique
demands of their hotels. As the survey of
our readers indicates, in addition to service, they require efficiency
from the time they walk in to the moment they
leave," said Jonathan Meigs, publisher of Reed Travel Group's Frequent
Flyer magazine. "Clearly, Renaissance
understands these needs and had demonstrated its commitment to making
business travelers' feel comfortable
during the grueling time they spend on the road."
Commenting on the entire upscale hotel segment, Stephen C. Goodall,
President and Chief Operating Officer of
J.D. Power and Associates noted that overall satisfaction with the
guest experience across all chains increased
slightly. "This year a smaller percentage of guests reported experiencing
a significant problem during their stay
compared to last year (15% vs. 21%)," Goodall said. "Although four
out of five guests with a problem (78%)
reported the problem to the hotel, only a little more than half (59%)
of the problems are resolved. This amounts to
a "significant opportunity for improvement," continued Goodall.
Those chains ranking below industry average, in alphabetical order are:
Crowne Plaza, DoubleTree, Hilton, Omni,
Radisson, Sheraton, and Wyndham.
The 1998 Frequent Flyer Magazine/J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Domestic
Guest Satisfaction Study--Upscale
Hotel Chains, is based on 8,067 individual evaluations of 11 upscale
hotel chains by frequent business travelers.
Please note that this study was intended to measure the level of customer
satisfaction among what the industry
describes as "Upscale" hotels and does not include those chains in
the following categories:
J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web
at http://www.jdpower.com. Email:
[email protected].
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information
in this release or J.D. Power and
Associates survey results without the express prior written consent
of J.D. Power and Associates.