The hotel industry is in the process of recovering from the economic downturn and strategies are being created to achieve customer satisfaction in hotels. As I write this, I am not sure if this is a statement of fact or an excuse.
I find it ironic that the JD Power and Associates 2012 North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study (SM) that was released in July 2012 shows that:
Customer satisfaction at hotels has declined to 757 on a 1,000-point scale, down 7 points since 2011. However, guest satisfaction with the underlying experience has deteriorated much more than this score suggests, as relatively high levels of satisfaction with costs and prices mask declines in other areas of the guest experience.
Satisfaction with check-in/check-out, food and beverage, hotel services and hotel facilities are all at new lows since the 2006 study, and satisfaction with rooms has dropped to nearly one point from its lowest level in the past seven years.
“As the industry continues to recover and occupancy rates increase, hoteliers need to get back to basics and improve the overall guest experience,” said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of lodging and travel at JD Power and Associates.
“Charging guests more and providing less is not a winning combination senegal phone number from a customer satisfaction perspective, let alone a winning business strategy. Long story short, hoteliers are falling behind and need to catch up.”
If there is one industry that is “on the ball” when it comes to customer satisfaction, it has to be the lodging industry. With few exceptions, customer satisfaction is at the core of their offerings.
Even for travel agencies, it has become an important element, as it is not just another factor when visiting another place. They do not only sell a new experience, they also offer an accommodation service that depends on the whim, tastes and individual preferences that are unique to each client, and that is a difficult challenge to satisfy.
You may be interested in reading this article on how to evaluate travel agency services.
And yet, customer experience is at the heart of their business and their offering. I guess you could say that’s true for any product or service, but I think with accommodation it’s more profound because their product and service is provided when we are most vulnerable (in a manner of speaking), as it involves us sleeping, eating, showering away from home.
Hence, the experience they provide is perceived more intensely and I think expectations tend to be a bit higher than with other products and services. I have no scientific evidence for this, it is just my observation.