Regional factors have an affect on hotel guest satisfaction

Categories: Geography; The Guest Experience
As published in: Hotel & Motel Management
Date: October 6, 2003
Author: Jonathan Barsky, Lenny Nash

The second-quarter 2003 Market Metrix Hospitality Index includes a new, geographic analysis of hotel-guest satisfaction and other performance metrics. This research, which examines hotel results by city, state and region, revealed a variety of interesting results.

The second-quarter 2003 Market Metrix Hospitality Index, which is based on 30,000 in-depth consumer interviews, includes a new, geographic analysis of hotel-guest satisfaction and other performance metrics. This research, which examines hotel results by city, state and region, revealed a variety of interesting results.

Among U.S. cities, hotels in Providence, R.I.; Honolulu; and Wichita, Kan.; are providing the highest levels of satisfaction to their guests. Guests least happy with their big-city hotel experience are found in Philadelphia, while guests in smaller cites are least happy in Canton, Ohio, and Sioux Falls, S.D. Not surprisingly, cities with lower guest satisfaction also reported shorter average stays and more price resistance.

Regional variations, likely caused by such factors as weather, the labor pool and hotel supply, also were found within large hotel chains. Holiday Inn was the most consistent hotel brand in delivering customer satisfaction to its guests throughout the country. Motel 6 showed the highest variation of guest satisfaction throughout its system with Little Rock, Ark., scoring highest and Los Angeles scoring lowest among its guests.

In terms of price sensitivity, guests staying at Honolulu hotels are willing to pay the most additional amount per night, about $13, before switching to another hotel. Hartford, Conn.; Portland, Maine; and San Francisco hotel guests also indicated a willingness to pay higher rates. Conversely, hotel markets with the least tolerance for higher prices include three midwestern cites: Rockford, Ill.; Peoria Ill.; and Flint Mich.; where guests are willing to pay only $4 more per night before they would defect to another brand. New York hotel guests also ranked near the top of the price-sensitivity scale.

Providence, R.I., was the only U.S. city where business travelers outnumber pleasure guests. Atlantic City, N.J., had the highest proportion of pleasure travelers. Guests traveling to Honolulu recorded the longest average stay, while guests traveling to Billings, Mont., record the shortest average stay.

The study also revealed that customer satisfaction depends on the city of origin. The happiest hotel guests come from Atlanta, New York and Houston. The hardest-to-please guests originate from Seattle, Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City.

Another interesting finding was that loyalty programs were more important for guests traveling to Atlantic City than any other city. However, this isn't surprising given the number of casino hotels in Atlantic City. As indicated in previous Market Metrix research, casino loyalty programs lead the industry and are well known for offering handsome program benefits, such as complementary meals, rooms, shows, shopping discounts, private club access and large loans to active members.

The Market Metrix Hospitality Index is a quarterly report of customer satisfaction with hotel, airline and car rental companies based on 30,000 in-depth consumer interviews. It ranks top hospitality brands by industry and, for hotels, by categories such as luxury, midprice and economy. Reports are available by subscription.

Jonathan Barsky and Lenny Nash work for Market Metrix LLC (MarketMetrix.com), a firm that provides customer and employee programs for the hospitality industry. For more information, call (800) 239-7515.