Guestroom at forefront of guest satisfaction

Hotel & Motel Management, Sept 20, 2004 by Stacey Mieyal Higgins

NATIONAL REPORT -- The 2004 J.D. Power and Associates North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study gave a few hotel brands a reason to rally their troops.

Most hoteliers saw the award as an affirmation of the hard work, on many levels, that goes into making guests happy.

"The real value is internal," said Jim Holthouser, senior v.p. of brand management, Homewood Suites, Hilton Hotels Corp. "It rallies everybody around the ideals of quality."

The study is based on responses from 29,424 guests who stayed in a hotel between December 2003 and June 2004. This year's index model factors changed to reflect increasing attention to the guestroom experience. According to the study, the factors, in order of importance, are the guestroom, check-in/check-out, costs and fees, hotel facilities, food and beverage and hotel services.

"We now know that this year, irrespective of market segment, the No. 1 driver of overall guest satisfaction is guestroom experience," said Linda Hirneise, partner and manager of global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif. "In the past it was the key driver in upscale."

J.D. Power uses input from industry stakeholders along with market trend research to establish the guest satisfaction factors, she said. Each year, hoteliers are invited to a summit to discuss what they would like to see in the study.

Business as usual

Guest satisfaction is about providing the right services at the appropriate time. Many of the brands are targeting the business traveler with new services and amenities, including high-speed Internet access and business centers.

"With the abundance of the business travelers coming back--it's half if not greater of the profile of an individual hotel--it's a minimum level of expectance," Hirneise said. "These folks expect to have [HSIA] in their rooms."

Microtel Inn & Suites will provide HSIA and local and long distance calls at no charge through Project Reveille. The program will be launched in January 2005.

"Fees at hotels, particularly at budget level, are a real irritant to guests and it's no secret that more people are making hotel decisions based on availability of broadband and its cost," said Jon Leven, senior v.p., marketing for Microtel's parent company, US Franchise Systems.

To make this possible, franchisees made a small one-time contribution and USFS covered the balance of the network and servicing costs, which are in the seven figures, Leven said.

Wingate Inn also provides an inclusive pricing model to guests, which includes HSIA, an oversized guestroom, breakfast buffet and business center, said Keith Pierce, president of Wingate Inns International, AmeriHost Franchise Systems and Ramada Franchise Systems and group president of Cendant Hotel Group.

"We're strengthening the brand through [HSIA] and we're going to provide wireless [Internet] in guestrooms and public spaces throughout the system," Pierce said. "Currently, three fourths of the wireless is done."

When Wingate offered free HSIA, it was a risky move, he said. Now wireless is in high demand.

"We made the decision to improve our HSIA by offering wireless somewhat out of competitive pressure, but also consumer needs," Pierce said.

Hilton Garden Inn is taking a more utilitarian approach to wireless Internet, according to Adrian Kurre, senior v.p. of brand management, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Hotels Corp.

"We will have a [wireless] standard in place," he said. "If you look at laptops in the market today, 30 percent have wireless. The average lifespan of a laptop is approximately 30 months. So over the next two years, 70 percent are going to go to laptop heaven and everybody is going to get new laptops with wireless.

"So we know our public areas will have wireless by 2005 and it will be available in all guestrooms in 2006. That's the right timing because that's when it will be accepted. ... We will continue to look at things to deliver to the business traveler to make their jobs easier."

With HSIA already in place, the brand was able to provide remote printing.

Candlewood Suites also is in the process of implementing HSIA, according to Gina LaBarre, v.p., brand management for the extended-stay brand for InterContinental Hotels Group.

Room for improvement

Although these hotels scored well in overall guest satisfaction, they still are looking at enhancements to further improve the guest experience.

"The only thing we felt we were lacking was the atmosphere, as far as being homelike," said LaBarre. "We warmed up the decor packages and truly said, 'Is this something we would put in our home?'"

Increasing the guestroom television size to 32 inches and using leather recliners are other things Candlewood is considering to "bring it home" to guests, she said.

Candlewood is preparing for a formal positioning launch at the IHG conference in October.

An enhanced Wingate Inn bath-amenity program will include Neutrogena or Judith Jackson products, which are brands that resonate with corporate travelers, according to Pierce.