The Decreasing Satisfaction to the European Hotel Brands

The availability of Internet access in all kind of business, particularly in non-hotel settings such as cafes and restaurants, has increased the expectation of guests to get the same experience in hotels. In fact, J.D. Power and Associates 2011 European Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study stated that complimentary Internet access need has reached its top in 2011, surpassing the need of breakfast.

There are seven measurements to meet hotel guests’ satisfaction: guest room; costs and fees; hotel facilities; check-in/check-out; food and beverage; hotel services; and reservation. All seven of them are expected to give good experience and satisfy the guests. But, the same study found that the overall average satisfaction declines 10 points from 2010, with the largest decline occurs in the costs and fees measure, which is the second most important measure.

The study shows that there is a problem in costs and fees for the Internet availability in hotels. Indeed, some hotels online have already included the Internet fee as a part of their room rate, but there are also some hotels that required the guests to pay a separate fee for Internet connectivity.

The former triggered the increasing of the room rate while the latter caused less satisfaction of the hotel guests. Due to this problem, only 13-28 percent of the guests say that they would return to the hotel for next stay.

So, it is critically important for hoteliers and fot their hotel online marketing to ensure the guests’ satisfaction in hotel. Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global travel and hospitality business at J.D. Power and Associates said that the overall average satisfaction of the guests can be increased by advancing the frequency of interaction between hotel staff and the hotel guests. Grief promised 28 points markup of the average satisfaction. Otherwise, he said, hoteliers may be loosing their customers, market share and financial viability.