2025 Guest Experience: How Hotels Are Winning Satisfaction in a Year of Record Demand
The 2026 Guest Experience Benchmark reveals a hotel industry that continues to mature under pressure. Despite record tourist arrivals in several regions, guest satisfaction continued to rise. This matters because volume growth often strains service delivery. Yet the data shows that hotels are coping better than ever.
In 2025, the global Guest Review Index reached 86.7%. This represents a 0.5 percentage point increase year over year. It is also 1.3 points above the pre-pandemic record. At the same time, review volume grew by 2.1%. This combination challenges long-held assumptions. Growth does not always erode guest experience.
The 2026 Guest Experience Benchmark confirms a trend that began in 2022. Hotels are learning how to scale quality. Technology, process maturity, and experience management are now central to performance. Throughout this article, we examine what changed, where performance diverged, and what leaders should focus on next.
Takeaways
Global GRI reached 86.7%, exceeding pre-pandemic records.
Review volume growth no longer undermines guest satisfaction.
Luxury hotels face stagnation in mature markets.
Google has become the leading review platform globally.
Regional execution matters more than demand growth.
A global view: Growth without compromise
The past year delivered one of the most encouraging global signals since the pandemic. Guest satisfaction rose even as tourism demand surged. Peak season performance in the Northern Hemisphere exceeded 2024 levels. This outcome reflects stronger operational discipline. It also reflects more realistic guest expectations.
Three- and four-star hotels again carried most of the momentum. Their GRI increased by 0.6 and 0.5 points, respectively. Five-star hotels grew more slowly, at 0.3 points. Still, luxury achieved a global GRI of 90.4%. That remains an exceptional result given rising costs and staffing pressure.
Regionally, growth was uneven. The Middle East led with a 0.8-point increase. North America followed at 0.6 points. Asia delivered a solid 0.6-point improvement. Europe, by contrast, showed slower momentum despite strong tourism numbers.
These results underline a critical lesson. Guest satisfaction growth is no longer guaranteed by demand alone. It depends on execution.
Review volume: More voices, new platforms
Review volume rose by 2.1% globally in 2025. This growth accelerated in the second half of the year. It was driven mainly by South America and the Middle East. Europe, however, recorded a slight decline.
The most striking shift occurred at the platform level. For the first time since the pre-pandemic period, Google generated more mentions than TripAdvisor. In 2023, TripAdvisor produced 11.6 million reviews globally. Google generated 9.1 million. By 2025, Google had climbed to 12.4 million mentions, while TripAdvisor had fallen to 10.3 million.
This change has strategic implications. Hotels must adapt to platforms that prioritize speed, visibility, and local search behavior. Response strategies also need to evolve accordingly.
The narrowing gap between Google and Booking.com reinforces this shift. In 2023, Booking.com outpaced Google by 1.6 million reviews in Shiji’s sample. By 2025, that gap dropped to just 627,000.
The Five-Star paradox
Luxury hotels faced a complex year. Review volume for five-star properties grew by a record 4.4%. However, GRI growth slowed significantly. This pattern is especially visible in Europe and North America.
In North America, luxury GRI did not grow at all in 2025. Over three years, it increased by only 0.3 points. Europe showed a similar pattern, with just 0.5 points of growth over the same period.
Asia and the Middle East tell a different story. Luxury GRI in Asia rose by 1.0 point over three years. The Middle East achieved a remarkable 1.4-point increase. These regions demonstrate that luxury growth is still possible. However, it requires disciplined experience design.
The data suggests that luxury expectations are changing. Guests are less forgiving. They expect personalization, speed, and consistency. When these elements slip, ratings suffer quickly.
Departmental performance: Where guests are noticing change
Departmental scores provide critical context. In 2025, Value and Food & Beverage showed strong recovery. Value rose by 0.6 points. Food & Beverage increased by 1.6 points in the second half of the year.
Cleanliness, however, lagged. Its growth reached only 0.1 points globally. Mid-year performance was particularly weak. This aligns with operational stress during peak seasons.
Service and Room scores varied by region. Markets with strong staffing stability performed better. Those facing labor shortages struggled to maintain consistency.
These insights reinforce the need for granular monitoring. Aggregate scores alone do not reveal where experience breaks down.
Central America: A new lens on the Americas
This year’s report introduces Central America as a distinct geopolitical region. This includes Mexico, whose patterns differ from the rest of North America.
Central America shows a familiar structure. Four-star hotels perform exceptionally well. Five-star hotels lag behind. The GRI gap between these categories is under two points.
GRI growth outpaced the global average. However, review volume grew by only 0.3%. This suggests improving satisfaction among a stable guest base.
Google dominates the market with over 45% share. TripAdvisor and Expedia each hold 19%. Booking.com trails at 13%. Seasonality plays a major role here. Both GRI (Global Review Index) and NPS (Net Promoter Score) fluctuate sharply between December and January.
Europe: Strong demand, slower satisfaction
Europe recorded record international arrivals in 2025. According to UN Tourism, arrivals rose by 4%. Yet review volume declined slightly by 0.1%.
GRI growth was modest. Three-star hotels grew at twice the rate of five-star properties. However, three-star response rates remain low. At 49.6%, they trail four-star hotels by nearly 20 points.
The review market remains dominated by Booking.com with a 60% share. Google and Expedia are growing fast, at 14% and 77% respectively.
Departmental scores slowed across Service, Cleanliness, Room, and Value. Food & Beverage stood out as the exception, improving across all star categories.
Middle East: Consistency at scale
The Middle East continues to stand apart. Its five-star segment shows exceptional consistency. Seasonal effects are minimal.
The gap between five-star GRI at 91.1% and four-star at 83.1% is among the widest globally. Yet three- and four-star hotels grew at twice the rate of luxury.
Review volume rose by 3.9%. Tourist arrivals grew by 3%, reaching 100 million visitors. Google now holds 48% of the review market. Expedia grew by 24% year over year.
Response performance remains a regional strength. Both three- and five-star hotels respond in under three days. Response rates exceed 80%. This operational maturity supports long-term satisfaction.
Africa: Volume up, satisfaction flat
Africa set a new tourism record in 2025. Arrivals rose by 8%. Review volume followed closely, increasing by 6.8%.
However, GRI growth was modest. Four-star hotels grew by 0.3 points. Five-star hotels increased by just 0.2 points. This is among the weakest performances globally.
Google leads with 43% market share. Booking.com follows at 30%. TripAdvisor holds 14%. HolidayCheck reached 7% and grew by 26.1%, its best regional performance.
Cleanliness underperformed relative to other departments globally, with this weakness also evident in the African market. Response times remain excellent. Five-star hotels respond in 2.6 days, improving further over 2024.
North America: Resilient but uneven
North America experienced 1% growth in tourist arrivals. Review volume grew by 2.1%. Performance varied widely by segment.
Three- and four-star hotels showed strong GRI growth. Luxury stagnated again. Five-star response times averaged nearly four days. This is slower than most regions.
Expedia gained 8.1 points of market share. Hotels.com lost 6.0 points. Expedia now represents over 37% of all reviews. Only Google matched its growth pace.
Luxury service, room, value, and cleanliness scores declined. NPS dropped by 2.0 points. This contrasts sharply with global NPS growth of 1.8 points.
South America: Volume leader, satisfaction under pressure
South America drove global review growth in 2025. Volume rose by 9.3%, the highest of any region.
GRI growth remained weak, between 0.2 and 0.3 points. Negative mentions increased by 1%.
Department scores suggest a healthier picture. However, luxury hotels struggled with Cleanliness and Value. Response times exceeded six days. This is almost double the global average.
Asia: The global benchmark
Asia remains the best-performing region for the third year running. GRI across all star categories leads globally.
Review volume declined slightly by 0.05%. This was driven by a sharp drop in Agoda reviews, down 22.8%.
Google now leads market share at 25%. Department scores improved across the board except Value for Money. Room performance had a limited negative impact compared to other regions.
Asia shows what is possible when consistency meets scale.
Oceania: Resilient but slow to adapt
Oceania delivered mixed results. Five-star GRI grew by 0.3 points but remains the lowest globally at 88.0%.
Booking.com leads with 60% share. Google follows at 13%. Expedia holds 11%.
Department scores declined across the board. Negative mentions increased slightly. Five-star NPS dropped by 6.9 points.
The region remains stable but slower to adopt emerging best practices.
Final words
The 2026 Guest Experience Benchmark tells a nuanced story. Global guest satisfaction continues to rise. However, growth is increasingly polarized. Some regions and segments adapt faster than others.
Luxury hotels face the greatest pressure. Expectations are rising faster than performance. Meanwhile, four-star hotels quietly set new standards.
The message is clear. Experience management is no longer optional. It is a core operational discipline.
