Are location, location, location the three most important things that determine the success of a property? The purpose of a recent Market Metrix global study of the hotel industry was to analyze the reasons why guests select a particular hotel. The results of this study offer insight into the current behavior of hotel guests and the corresponding market opportunities.

“Location” is an important reason for selecting a hotel, especially for economy and mid–scale guests. But the results of this study found that it is the guest experience that has the most influence on hotel selection.

“GUEST EXPERIENCE” IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOTEL LOCATION OR PRICE

The experiences of guests during their hotel stay directly impact repeat visits and recommendations (personal and online reviews, e.g., TripAdvisor). A positive/negative guest experience can impact a hotel’s reputation and may trigger recommendations or reviews about that experience. “Guest experience factors” which include past experience, reputation, recommendations, and online reviews, are critical to selecting a hotel by the majority of hotel guests (51%) and are now more important to guests than either hotel location (48%) or price (42%).

Guest experience includes past experience, recommendations, online reviews and referrals

Not surprisingly, the guest experience impacts hotel selection for Luxury guests more than any other segment. Among brands, the luxury guests from Rosewood (83%) and Pan Pacific (79%) utilize guest experience factors more when choosing a hotel. Among the big chains, Hampton Inns ranks highest with 74% of their guests relying on these factors when choosing a hotel.

“Price” was the next most popular reason why guests choose a hotel. These results varied by hotel price. Fewer luxury and timeshare guests stated that “Price” was a primary reason for their selection while twice as many economy guests highlighted price as a key factor. Among all hotels, more Motel 6 guests (79%) reported that price is a critical element in their selection of a hotel.

Loyalty programs are also important in hotel selection with 18% of guests saying loyalty programs benefits are a primary reason for selecting a hotel. More casino guests (30%) value loyalty programs as a key element when selecting a casino. Harrah’s loyalty program is mentioned by an incredible 62% of their guests as a key reason for selecting their brand.

With an increasing number of user–generated reviews and people reading and acting on them, the impact of the guest experience (guest satisfaction and dissatisfaction) directly impacts hotel selection and consequently, has a quicker economic impact. The guest experience has never mattered more.

About Market Metrix

Clarabridge’s customer experience management platform helps hundreds of the world’s leading brands understand and improve the customer journey. Powered by the industry’s most sophisticated customer analytics engine, Clarabridge collects and transforms all forms of customer feedback into intelligence, allowing businesses to activate the voice of the customer across the enterprise. Industry leaders including PetSmart, United Airlines, L’Oréal USA, Virgin Active, Rackspace, and ADP use Clarabridge insights to inform key business decisions. The result: happy, loyal customers.