We've had it with thin walls and smoke. We also prefer Ritz-Carlton Hotels for our luxury trips.

That's according to the results of a JD Power and Associates Guest Satisfaction Survey, who surveyed 47,634 travelers to discover that the overall #1 complaint about hotels is noise and the best in service is the Ritz.

Hotel guests are also tired of cigarette smells, they like their free continental breakfast and most would really like to know if the hotel they are staying in has environmentally-friendly programs in place or not.]]> Tim L. 2007-07-25T12:07:12-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/10/9/105429/610 <![CDATA[<p><img align="right" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/hairy_survey.jpg">We are on a <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Guest%20Satisfaction%20Survey">hotel survey</a> kick and loving it. The latest one is a survey that compares attitudes of guests booking direct at hotel chain sites with booking at Expedia or Hotels.com.<p>According to research company <a href="http://www.relevantview.com/sr_ota_2.asp">eVOC/Relevant view,</a> few hotel guests are booking through hotel web sites because they like the experience. Instead they do it out of loyalty, which in this biz means points and rewards for future stays.<p> The number of respondents saying they would prefer to book through Expedia or Hotels.com was 37%, while those saying they would prefer to book through the Marriott or Starwood site was 20%. The rest replied, "It depends," which is where the details come in.<p><i>More "Survey Says" Tim L. 2006-10-09T13:04:24-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/9/27/23053/4220 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/biztravel.jpg"><p><a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com">TripAdvisor</a> announced the results of a new business traveler survey yesterday. Under the headline of <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060927/new004.html?.v=75">"Business Travelers Chained to Favorite Hotels,"</a> they note that 68 percent regularly stay at the same hotel chain while on business trips.<p>Apparently the road warriors don't like surprises. Some 2,100 travelers from around the world responded and their top pick was the <a href="http://www.marriott.com"><b>Marriott</b></a> chain. This is no surprise to us since the first word that comes to mind when we hear Marriott is "predictable." Runners up were Hilton, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, and Best Western. We're not sure where that last one came from, but perhaps there are a lot of Willy Lomans out there who find this the best choice when Tim L. 2006-09-28T09:15:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/7/28/13221/8469 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/jdpower_report.jpg"><p>As we mentioned the other day, JD Power put out their annual <a href="http://www.jdpower.com/travel/ratings/hotels/indexratings.asp?v1=Luxury">Guest Satisfaction Survey</a> which studied guests approval ratings with certain hotel chains, across different brands as well all different types of hotel guest behaviors.<p>The checklist that was surveyed at each hotel includes: reservations, check-in/check-out, guest room, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and costs and fees.<p>Topping the list for the luxury brands is <a href="http://www.fourseasons.com"><b>The Four Seasons</b></a> which is not an earth-shattering result. However, we still can't believe someone would be satisfied with a hotel that likes to overcharge you for high-speed internet access and in most places doesn't even have wireless to overcharge you for.<p><a href="http://www.omnihotels.com"><b>Omni Hotels</b></a> did best in the upscale range, tailed juliana 2006-07-28T13:11:44-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/7/25/15284/4057 <![CDATA[<p><img align="right" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/nonsmoking_ashtray.jpg">A new report from J.D. Power and Associates shows us what hotel guests in all budget ranges really care about. Attention smokers: it's not going to get any better for you. <p>A <a href="http://www.travelindustrywire.com/article23279.html">new hotel satisfaction survey</a> of over 46,000 guests finds that Marriott's plan to go totally smoke-free in September is going to make a lot of people happy. Our condolences to all you smokers out there, but "79 percent of hotel guests prefer a smoke-free environment that exceeds the boundaries of their guest room."<br><br> Other clear findings included the not-so-novel notion that people are looking for good value. Listen up all you properties that are tacking on an extra "resort fee" and nailing $400-a-room guests for Tim L. 2006-07-26T12:41:00-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/