Regardless of price category, a hotel should provide a satisfying, memorable experience whether you’re staying for business or pleasure. Hotel occupancy is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and the just-released J.D. Power North American Guest Satisfaction Index Study for 2023 indicates which hotel chains are making a good impression and what guests are enjoying most about each.
The survey, now in its 27th year, gathered responses from 33,754 hotel guests for stays between May 2022 and May 2023 and ranks customer satisfaction based on six performance factors: communications and connectivity, food and beverage, guestrooms, hotel facilities, staff service and value for price. One major takeaway from the survey is that staff service is the highest-scoring factor among all hotels, reinforcing the importance of staffing for the guest experience. Value is another key factor, as guests who highly ranked the value for price of their room were more satisfied with their overall stay than those who did not.
Hotel chains are ranked based on a 1,000-point scale and divided by price point category: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy. Here are the hotel chains that earned the highest overall guest satisfaction in each category:
Luxury: Waldorf Astoria (788 points)
Upper upscale: Hard Rock Hotels and Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts (tie, 723 points each)
Upscale: Cambria Hotels & Suites (738 points)
Upper midscale: Trademark Collection by Wyndham (762 points)
Midscale: Tru by Hilton (708 points)
Economy: America's Best Value Inn and Microtel by Wyndham (tie, 637 points each)
Of all the hotel chains ranked, Hard Rock Hotels has won the upper upscale category three years in a row, with excellent staff service, facilities and—though pricey—value for money. Find the complete results here.