Unpacking Guest Satisfaction: The Secret Behind Turning Hotel Guests into Raving Fans

A stay at a hotel should be nothing short of a cinematic experience, much like the quirky and charming world of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'! From the moment guests walk through the doors, they should be transported to a realm of comfortable staying, impeccable service, and welcoming staff.

But, many customers don't get these pleasing and relaxing hotel environments for some reason. Why?

To find that, we've dedicated our new episode of the CX See Why show to Hotels industry.

To hear from a professional who worked in this big industry, we invited Jeff Zidell, former Senior Vice President, Loyalty Marketing and Partnerships at Hyatt. As always, our host Dan Gingiss also shared great insights about his real-life hotel stay experiences.

Here are the main topics that were discussed during the enlightening discussion:

• Identifying the areas of delight- top 3 “basics” that remain critical to a satisfactory guest experience.
• Identify areas of poor experience - where are customers showing frustration?
• Tracing problems back to their root causes - investigate the ‘why’ behind the experience.
• Takeaways - specific action items, including quick wins and larger issues.

Analyzing Real-time Customer Experience Insights from the Hotel Industry

To enrich the discussion with real-time customer experience insights from the hotel industry, Clootrack has analyzed 34,328 guest reviews of the top 29 US hotel brands and gathered exciting insights, including the top delighting factors and pain points in guest experience.

The Top Category Drivers that Influence Guest Experience

As always, Dan started with a game by asking Jeff to guess the top 3 category drivers of customer experience in the hotel industry.

Jeff said the top 3 drivers are Cleanliness, Staff Behavior, and Location.

They were the correct answers!

Jeff says, “It's a very human experience, right? You stay at a hotel for 24 hours a week, or even longer, and you interact with many different employees during that stay, and you know it's people serving people, and people have good days, and people have bad days. But it's everything about how you're treated, how you're welcomed, how the little problems are handled, and that the attitude and the behavior and the expediency of solving problems can make a big difference.”

Digging deep into these top 3 drivers with the help of AskClootrack, we could find the core factors that make these 3 drivers the top ones influencing the customer experience.

Top 2 Category Concerns of Hotels Customers

Next, Dan asked Jeff to tell the top 2 concerns of guests when it comes to the hotel experience. Dan asked what he thinks people complain more about or are most likely to go online and write a negative review.

Jeff said one is value for the money. People will think about how much they spend and what kind of experience they will get. And then the second is meeting their expectations. If they don't get what they expect, it will break the experience.

He is almost right!

Seeing Parking as one of the top concerns in guest experience surprised Dan a bit.

Dan asked Jeff what does he think about this when it comes to price versus value?

Jeff said, It can be any hotel at any price point; you can still have a great experience. It doesn't matter if you're paying 100, 200, 300, or 400 dollars. For all of those price points, you can have a great experience. Then it comes down to expectations. What do you expect to get at each price point, and did the experience over-deliver or under-deliver versus you know what you thought you would get… It all comes down to the people and the product... Are they warm? Are they welcoming? Are they caring? And if the product is in good shape… I don't think those 2 are always related, not necessarily highly correlated with price.

Dan: What should a consumer expect at a $400 Hotel versus a $100 hotel? So I'm going to spend 4 times as much; what do you think my expectation should be walking in?

Jeff said It might have a better location. It might be more centrally located. That's going to drive the price. You might have a larger room. You might have more amenities. You might have more food and beverage offerings and more resort-like amenities. It might just not be that the brand is at a higher price point; it commands a higher price point because of its reputation. So many things factor into the price.

The Key Concerns Relating to Price

The issue of overcharging and not honoring pre-mentioned prices has been contributing to more negative perceptions around prices. This is particularly evident in cases where there are surprise charges, such as resort fees.

Even if we have already prepaid for our accommodation, there may be additional fees that we were not aware of. Furthermore, some resorts have been known to charge for items that guests were not using, which is clearly not acceptable. As customers begin to voice their concerns, we see that the word "expensive" is increasingly being used, indicating a growing level of dissatisfaction with pricing practices. To avoid further negativity in this area, hotels and resorts need to be more transparent with their pricing and ensure that all fees are clearly communicated upfront.

Check customer verbatim:

“for this price, i was shocked to find ceiling damaged and poorly repaired, the restroom outdated, lights, burnt out, etc.”

“the high prices at the cafe. for example just for a cup of hot water and a tea bag the price was $6.29. the food stand going toward the elevator just for three bottles of water was $21.85. this high prices that they are charging is ridiculous. i will go elsewhere for my food and beverages.”

Jeff says, In the first quote, they're saying they were shocked that the property wasn't in good shape. That's something, no matter what price you're paying; those aren't things you would hope to do. It's price independent. You want the property to be well-kept, clean, and in good working order. The resort fees and add-on costs have been in the press lately.

Regarding the second review, you're paying for convenience, too, right? So those things are easy to get to because they're in the hotel so the price will differ from the grocery store. You pay for that convenience. And so there's a particular element to that. People don't always think about that.”

Patterns and Guest Experience Across Different Cities

We've got 2 cities that stuck out a little bit on the downside: New York and San Diego, and interestingly, they both stood out for the same reason: ‘service offered.’

Dan: Does this surprise you at all?

Jeff said, These scores are very high, like everything is in the nineties except friendly reception across the board. So friendly reception is lower than in the others, even in Chicago, Boston, Houston, and San Francisco. Nothing hits me over the head like a ton of bricks that New York and San Diego would be lower. I've had great experiences in both of those cities.”

Drilling Down to Cleanliness in Hotels Across Different Cities

San Diego has been placed in a tight spot with lower rankings in two significant categories of Clean Bathrooms and Clean Towels. However, there has been a trend observed across all cities with regard to Clean Towels, proving to be a challenging area to excel in.

On closer inspection of the different hotel brands within San Diego, it was found that specific brands were the reason for the skewed data. It is vital to delve deeper into these layers to pinpoint the experiences that are generating positive reviews, which need to continue, and those that are causing negative reviews, which need to be rectified. Identifying these characteristics gives hotels the opportunity to establish their brand and create the desired image in the minds of their customers, ultimately impacting their business positively.

Different Customer Profiles & Their Sentiment

It seems that the ‘group’ segment is the most satisfied with their stay. That's because groups tend to have more fun! They enjoy going out to dinner and socializing with each other over drinks. Plus, they often have joining rooms, making their stay an overall experience.

While solo travelers and business people showed slightly lower levels of positivity and slightly higher levels of negativity; however, the standout segment continues to be the ‘groups’, demonstrating the importance of social interaction and camaraderie in enhancing the hotel experience.

What Makes Group Customers More Satisfied?

When we dig deeper into the groups, some sub-trends pop up, and in this particular case, food becomes a huge deal. You can see that the standard of the food has a lot higher ranked among groups significantly than among other types of travelers.

Similarly, the service at the restaurant gets mixed reviews across different demographics. But with groups ended up positive. When we dig into the food, breakfast is the most important meal.

Dan: Jeff, talk to us about breakfast. I feel again this is another one of those things where at the lower-end hotels, I expect breakfast to be included, and at the higher-end, I expect it to be expensive.

Jeff: You're more likely to eat breakfast at the hotel before you go out and have your day in the city, so it does become a big part of that customer experience. It's good to see that the scores have some variability. But overall, they are positive, particularly for the group and the business person.

Key Takeaways From the Hotels Industry for All Other Industries

1. Transparency in pricing

Customers are more informed and conscious about pricing transparency. They want to know what they will end up paying out of their pockets without any hidden fees or taxes. Many hotel chains have now started providing the option to toggle on and off to see the price with all taxes and fees included. It's a vital step towards bridging the gap between the actual price and what customers see on their screens. In the past, hotels used to show only the daily rate without any taxes, leaving customers surprised by all the additional charges they had to pay. Thus, it's crucial for hotels to make sure they are transparent in their pricing and provide a detailed breakdown of all the charges included in every transaction.

2. Attention to detail

The smallest things can make a big difference, particularly when it comes to our experiences. Consider the seemingly insignificant notion of finding a good parking spot - it may not seem like much, but it can have a significant impact on the overall experience. On the contrary, small inconveniences like poor parking options or extended waiting times can set us off on the wrong foot, leading to a negative mood even before we begin our stay. This illustrates the importance of considering even the most minor details when creating an optimal experience for guests.

3. Learn from best practices

It is essential to constantly seek out ways to improve and grow. One way to do this is by learning from different locations within your organization. Whether you are a franchise or a business with multiple branches, there is always something to gain from different parts of your company. By taking note of the best practices observed in various locations, you can then apply them across all businesses, resulting in a more efficient, effective, and cohesive operation. Embracing this mentality will not only bring success to each of your locations but also contribute to the overall success of your business as a whole.

Watch the full show to learn more interesting insights from the hotel industry.

Download the full report of customer experience insights from the hotel industry.