Dive Brief:
- Hotel guest satisfaction in North America has improved across every segment over the last year, with guests feeling like they got a better value for their travel dollars, according to JD Power’s 2026 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, published Tuesday.
- For the third consecutive year, the luxury segment outpaced others with the strongest guest satisfaction scores. Marriott’s luxury Ritz-Carlton flag had the highest ranking among the 104 hotel brands benchmarked in the study, which surveyed nearly 45,000 guests between May 2025 and May 2026.
- This year’s findings show that “guests are having better experiences due to positive interactions with hotel staff, higher quality food and beverage and guest room improvements,” Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at JD Power, said in a statement. The 30th annual study also highlighted how guest preferences are shifting around technology and wellness.
Dive Insight:
Even as U.S. hotel ADR increased roughly 1% year over year, guests reported getting a better value for their money spent over the last year, per the study. Guest satisfaction improved across all other dimensions of the hotel stay as well, notably with food and beverage and facility upkeep.
“Improvements in courtesy from front desk staff, responsiveness to guest requests and the maintenance and upkeep of shared amenities such as pools and fitness centers, among others, are all elevating perceptions of the guest experience,” Stokes said.
The upscale segment showed the second strongest satisfaction scores, with Drury Hotels ranking highest among competitors in the segment, per the study. Meanwhile, for the fourth year in a row, Tru by Hilton led the midscale segment for overall customer satisfaction, while Microtel by Wyndham led the economy segment.
The study also highlighted how guest expectations are shifting. For example, smart TVs with streaming capabilities have transitioned from a premium guest room amenity to a standard expectation, per the study. Last year, Stokes said there was a significant opportunity to influence guest satisfaction through in-room technology enhancements such as smart TVs.
Guests also placed greater emphasis on health and wellness over the last year, identifying daily housekeeping, filtered water stations and fitness centers as “need to have” amenities, per the study. Additionally, the study shows that artificial intelligence tools are “beginning to reshape the hotel discovery process,” Stokes said, with younger generations using the technology the most.
