For industry to recover, hospitality must come before all

We’ve spoken before about where the hotel industry should consider making investments to improve the pace of recovery following the recession. But, those suggestions never really took into account the main reason the industry survives and thrives: the guests.

Consumers are the lifeblood of the hospitality industry and no amount of smart renovating or discounts will make up for poor service. Thankfully that has not been the case – if anything we’ve seen our friends in hospitality looking to step up their game. In 2010, the overall satisfaction has improved considerably according to the JD Power and Associates North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.

Across six hotel segments (i.e., luxury, mid-scale full service, and budget/economy), seven measures are examined in each – such as reservations, hotel services and hotel facilities. All segments have improved from 2009 in overall satisfaction. The measures which had the highest improvement were costs and rates, reservations, and guest room measures.

The hotel industry is not going to be fixed overnight. Hotels must continue to keep satisfaction levels high with its guests, and with happy guests, happy referrals follow. It’s great to see they are aware of this and continue to take steps to keep the quality of the entire guest experience high.