Modern and welcoming lobbies, attentive staff and value for price are key factors in how guests rate a hotel stay.
According to the recent J.D. Power 2023 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, Waldorf Astoria led the way for the luxury hotel segment, achieving an overall guest satisfaction score of 788 based on a 1,000-point scale.
Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power, said in an interview with Hotel News Now that the study screens 33,754 guests staying at branded hotels between May 2022 and May 2023. It doesn’t include stays at independent hotels. The study is in its 27th year, measuring overall guest satisfaction based on six factors: communications, connectivity, guest rooms, hotel facility, staff service and value for price.
Stokes said J.D. Power made several updates to the 2023 study, making it more difficult to compare apples to apples against 2022. But she said satisfaction with staff service coming in at a high level this year was surprising.
The increase in staff service could in part be due to the industry experiencing a hiring surge.
“We know the labor situation is improving and the industry is bringing back workers or bringing in new workers,” she said. “It was surprising that [it] seemed to be making its way into actual guest feedback about their hotel stay. More staff in the hotels are not only taking pressure off of maybe a skeleton staff, but of course also helps through the guest experience. This is especially true in full-service segments [such as] luxury and upper upscale.”
Dino Michael, senior vice president and global category head for Hilton luxury brands, which includes Waldorf Astoria, said employees are trained to think about human behavior and psychology.
“An easy example, is when somebody arrives at the entrance — they may be in a Lyft, Uber, chauffeur-driven car, whatever it might be — when they get out of the car, if they walk straight to the hotel, you can pretty much figure out they like to be tended to; they’re happy for us to collect their luggage. If they go to the back of their car to grab their suitcase, [staff will] take a step back, look at their body language. [In that case] they want to be more independent … we teach our members to look for those cues and their behavior to determine how they react next,” he said.
In terms of hiring, Michael said Hilton has always been able to attract quality candidates, but in the past 12 months brands have been forced to consider team members who didn’t have prior experience in either hospitality or luxury service, he said.
“Where else can you go in an industry, and within one building have the option of 15-20 careers. You can be in finance, sales and marketing, food and beverage, front of house and back of house, general management,” he said. “We really focused on attitude and enthusiasm. Now, we’re seeing as those team members that maybe didn’t have the experience and the background, that experience over the past 12 months has been groomed and they’re becoming more fluent. Now you’re seeing why that satisfaction and level of quality is just increasing at a rapid rate.”
Michael said Hilton also trains its team members to problem solve and offer alternative solutions when they can't accommodate a guest's specific request.
“The key is, when we do get it wrong, we respond quickly, empowering our team members to make sure that if we don’t have something — because sometimes it’s impossible to have everything for everybody — to offer an alternative rather than say, ’I’m really sorry, we can’t do that.’”
Upgraded Common Areas
The J.D. Power study notes guests are placing more importance on public spaces such as lobbies. In the luxury segment, specifically, guests desire a lobby that is modern and unique.
Stokes said J.D. Power surveyed guests about lobbies in the past, but this year additional questions were asked about the spaces.
"People — especially business travelers — are working in lobbies more. They're noticing what's available in the lobby and those communal spaces are attractive to people who are on the road ... and they are looking for more of a vibrant place to work," she said.
Michael said lobbies have long been a space that Hilton focuses on improving.
“Whenever you walk into a Waldorf Astoria lobby, for us the absolute first emotion needs to be a sense of location. The second emotion should be the brand, so you don’t end up with a homogeneous product that feels the same wherever you go,” he said. “You want uniqueness. Lobbies have always been our shop window, first impression.”
Waldorf Astoria has been working on creating lobbies with a seated environment at the entrance rather than leading guests straight to the check-in desk for a transactional encounter. Lobbies, particularly in the luxury segment, should allow guests, such as solo travelers, to be alone but not feel lonely.
“Lobbies provide an ability to have your own space, decompress, but there’s activity around you. There’s someone there to bring you whatever you need,” Michael said.
Properties in the Waldorf Astoria portfolio that recently underwent renovations include the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. The refurbishments include a new lobby, updated guest rooms and suites, spa, a redesigned presidential suite and a new Astoria Suite. Its food-and-beverage venues also received upgrades at its lobby-level Peacock Lounge, Brass Tack and Bernard's cocktail lounge.
Trends in Luxury Travel
A trend that is firmly sticking in luxury travel today is wellness, Michael said. While wellness amenities are traditionally thought of as fitness centers and spas, it's way beyond that.
Taking it a step further, he said it includes creating the right sleeping environment in the guest rooms.
"When we're designing bedrooms, is the fire alarm sensor light away from you so you're not looking at a blinking light? When we're landscaping our resorts, making sure that as people journey through the grounds, there are spaces where you could sit, reflect, be alone. Let's make sure that, holistically, we can give you a wellness experiences on and off property," he said.
Michael said it's also about crafting sophisticated food-and-beverage menus that give options for all diets and preferences.
New Additions to JD Power Study
For the 2023 study, new elements that were added in include questions about EV charging, and whether the guest had charged their electric vehicle at the hotel, Stokes said.
"We know owners and operators are installing EV chargers, not in huge numbers but it is something that they're considering and perhaps increasingly doing that," she said. "Of course, some of the large chains [such as] Hilton and Marriott, it's a part of their ESG initiatives around sustainability."
Of the 33,754 guests surveyed in the study, about 7% said they charged their electric vehicles at a hotel.