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Hotel Surveys / Hotel Service / JD Power / Hotel News / → All Tags

Wait, No. Maybe You Don't Like Hotels After All?

Yesterday we dished on a new survey that said online reviews are mostly positive but today with the release of the newest J.D. Power and Associates annual hotel survey, overall guest satisfaction has apparently dropped off. Huh?

But wait, it gets even more confusing. The survey also reports that guest satisfaction with room rates and fees have increased as have occupancy rates. This actually strikes us as strange because we've been seeing a lot of silly new fees implemented at hotels lately, coupled with the usual suspects like resort fees, internet charges and parking. But apparently, you all don't mind about that.

However, you are displeased with the other parts of your hotel stay from the hotel facilities and operations to services. But there could be a reason for that.

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Motel 6 / Hotel Service / Hotel Surveys / Budget Hotels / → All Tags

Motel 6 Really Wants to Know What You Think Of Its Rooms

Where: Pueblo, CO, United States

Motel 6 really wanted to know what we thought of this room

We always had Motel 6 down as a wham, bam, thank you kinda place to stay. You pays your $35.99 (one person), you gets your (grubby) room key, and the next morning you high tail it outta there, hoping you left the cooties in the bed.

That’s what we did recently, anyway, at the Motel 6 in Pueblo, Colorado. Our room smelt odd, the covers were pretty grim, they tried to charge us more than they should have (they allocated us a studio rather than a room, when we’d asked for a room) and it was, all in all, not the nicest motel we’d ever been in.

The next day, we didn’t even bother handing in our key at reception. We just got the hell out (along with the local gun show folks, who’d been filling the beds the night before).

We thought no more of it until the next day, when we got an email from Motel 6, asking us to fill in a survey about our stay. Which we ignored.

Then, five days later, we got another email. This time it said, plaintively:

We noticed that you did not have time to complete the survey. We are concerned that you may not have responded because we have somehow failed to live up to your expectations. At Accor Hotels, we are committed to providing a superior guest experience to each and every one of our customers. Please take a few minutes to tell us how well we met your expectations.

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Hotel Surveys / JD Power / Hotel News / Omni Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Aloft Hotels / Microtel Inns / Drury Hotels / Hilton Garden Inns / → All Tags

No Brainer: Low Room Rates Equals Happy Hotel Guests

We got this room at the Affinia Chicago for $159 a night. And we liked it!

A new report released by J.D. Power & Associates says hotel guests are more satisfied this year with their hotel stays and hoteliers have reasonable room rates to thank for that.

Because of the recession, hotels have had to drop room rates and as we've known here at HotelChatter for quite some time, when we get good deals on rooms, we're happier guests. Also thanks to the recession, hotels have had lower occupancy levels so more guests have gotten room upgrades at check-in. J.D. Powers' Mark Schwartz told the LA Times:

“If occupancy is lower, we find satisfaction with the speed of check-in is higher,” he said. “Guests are spending less time in line, are less likely to face overbooking and are more likely to be able to get an upgrade because more rooms are available.”

And guests are probably happier because hotels are rolling out all sorts of new amenities and services to keep them happy, from free WiFi to wine-tastings to cool in-room technology and upgraded lobby cafes.

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Oregon Hotels / Seaside Hotels / Conde Nast Traveler / Hotel Surveys / → All Tags

What Makes Oregon's Stephanie Inn So Great?

Where: 2740 South Pacific [map], Cannon Beach, OR, United States, 97110

Now that we've had a chance to pour over Conde Nast's Readers' Choice Awards, we noticed an Oregon hotel that didn't pop up when we wandered through the Oregon Hotel Trail. The Stephanie Inn, say CNT's readers, is the third best hotel in the country, after the Chicago outposts of the Ritz-Carlton and The Peninsula.

So what makes it so special? Good question: CN Traveler doesn't spell out any details. And the survey is just a numerical ranking, leaving us curious as to what makes the Stephanie so praiseworthy. On Tripadvisor, reviewers come to a consensus:

This Inn is probably great if you can pay $600/night for a view room. It is also great if you like a lot of pretension. You will see more people here in slacks than in beach clothes and we were definitely the youngest people there.

The Stephanie certainly has a great view of Haystack Rock, but aside from that, we're just not seeing the appeal. Also, how can a hotel not have online reservations??

[Photo: TripAdvisor]

Related Stories:
· Oregon Hotel Guide [HotelChatter]
· Conde Nast Readers Have Spoken [HotelChatter]

Hotel News / Travelodge Hotels / Hotel Surveys / → All Tags

Travelodge Says Nude Sleepwalkers More Common Than You Think

Travelodge UK has once again put out another wacky hotel survey, this time involving nude sleepwalkers. Yup, nude sleepwalkers and they are mostly men. Even more scary, the number of men sleepwalking is on the rise, increasing by sevenfold since last year's survey.

An astounding 95% of the hotel chain's sleepwalkers have been naked men. These night time sleeping wanderers were found in Travelodge reception areas across the UK, requesting the following information:

- Where is the bathroom - Can I check out as I am late for work - Do you have a copy of todays paper

One naked male sleepwalker even managed to get himself locked out of the hotel and later arrested.

Hmm...if we had to guess which of the three reasons for nude sleepwalkers was most compelling we would have to say alcohol abuse. C'mon...we all had that friend in college who whenever they got too drunk removed some article of clothing.

Anyways, Travelodge is sending out notices to its employees on how to deal with nude sleepwalkers. One such piece of advice is to keep a supply of towels at the front desk. We say also remind guests that there are security cameras around the hotel. Maybe that will sink into their subconscious and force them to at least put on some pants before they sleepwalk around.

Related Stories:
· Nude Men Sleepwalking is on the Rise [Travelodge UK]
· Now Travelodge Really, Really Wants You To Sleep Well [HotelChatter]
· The British Leave Behind Wacky Things in Their Hotel Rooms [HotelChatter]

Hotel Surveys / Conde Nast / Awards / → All Tags

Conde Nast Readers Have Spoken

It's that time of the year again when Conde Nast Traveler unveils its Readers Choice awards.

Topping the list for the best U.S. city was San Francisco who has won this distinction for 17 of the past 18 years. Whoa. Good thing San Francisco has a ton of hotels for all of its happy visitors.

As far as hotels go, not many US hotels made any top spots. The Four Seasons Maui nabbed the #15 spot and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago placed 25, followed closely by the Peninsula Chicago at 26.

The highest-ranked New York hotel on the list is the Four Seasons New York at #39 and that's tied with the Hotel Bel-Air.

So who was #1? The Hotel La Scalinatella, Capri, Italy. If there's anyone who wants to take us there so we can experience this place for ourselves, we will gladly accept.

Related Stories:
· Conde Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards 2007 [Conde Nast]

Hotel Surveys / Hotel News / Hotel Sex / Hotel Minibars / → All Tags

Sex, Drugs, False Teeth and Hotel Surveys

We've seen plenty of hotel surveys that cover guest satisfaction and brand preferences, but this Lost and Bound July one from Kayak gets extra credit for pushing the envelope.

Where else can you see how many people have booked rooms by the hour and what odd things were left in their rooms by other guests?

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Four Seasons Hotels / Amanresorts / Hotel Surveys / Hotel WiFi / → All Tags

Survey Says: Zagat Respondents Like Amanresorts and Four Seasons

A few days ago Zagat, publisher of handy restaurant and hotel guides, released the results of a new hotel survey. Amanresorts, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and Raffles were the top four chains, showing those Asians know a thing or two about providing good service. It didn't stop there though: Asian chains Oberoi and Shangri-La made the top-10 as well.

Seven of the top-10 in the Small Hotels, Resorts & Inns category were in Asia, but the top one was Singita in South Africa, pictured here, which was also cited as having the best rooms. The best large hotel was Four Seasons George V in Paris, while the best resort was the Four Seasons in Hualalai, Hawaii.

A few wild card winners include three resorts in Los Cabos, Mexico, Inn at Little Washington (near D.C.) for cuisine, and a hotel in Vegas--Vegas baby! OK, it was the Four Seasons again, but still...  

While we always take these surveys with a grain of salt--even we haven't seen more than a fraction of the best hotels all over the world--but you can't say they didn't try to get a good sampling. "The guide is based on the experiences of 21,783 frequent travelers and 1,626 professional travel agents who averaged 36.9 hotel nights per year."

And since we're highlighted the sorry state of WiFi in a lot of hotels this week, we can't resist this quote: "Zagat surveyors (23%) say the amenities offered have the greatest impact on their choice of hotel, with their favorite in-room feature -- the now nearly ubiquitous WiFi access (66% of business travelers say it's most important)." MOST important--hear that people? It's not an extra service you ream people on; it's up there with hot water and a door that locks.

[Photo: wander2006]

Related Stories:
· Zagat Surveys 23,409 Travelers to ID World's Leading Lodgings [PR Newswire]

Luxury Hotels / Hotel Surveys / Bali Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Close to Perfection at Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

Where: Sayan, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 80571

Can a Luxury Hotel be only four-tenths of a point shy of perfection? The Conde Nast Top 100 says that's the case with the Four Seasons Bali at Sayan.

It takes a while to get through all the travel magazines stacked up under the coffee table, especially when we know we've got a lot of purse and watch ads to slog through to find the articles. So we're just getting around to digesting the Top-100 hotels list Conde Nast Traveler published a few months back. Fortunately you can find it here on Concierge.com, without your hands smelling like perfume afterwards.

We take these reader's polls with a huge grain of salt, because it's obvious from the results that you get people voting for places they'd like to visit someday or a hotel where they had afternoon tea once and thought it was lovely. What caught our eye on this one though was the score for Four Seasons Bali at Sayan. A 99.6 out of 100.

It's hard for any hotel to please all the people all the time and to have staff so perfectly trained and content that nobody ever slips and annoys a guest. This place has apparently figured it all out.

So for $460 a night, what do they serve up with that slice of perfection? Personal service, first of all: there are only 18 suites and 42 villas, all filled with high-end Balinese furniture, hardwood floors, French doors opening onto a terrace, and all the expected Four Seasons amenities. A fantastic spa is a given and several pools and plunge pools look over the forest and valley. This is meant to be a place to unwind with nature: it's in the interior of Bali, not at the beach, so yoga and meditation classes are held regularly.

When it comes to making guests happy, this Four Seasons---one of many on that top-100 list---is at the head of the class.

Hotel News / Travelodge Hotels / Hotel Surveys / → All Tags

The British Leave Behind Wacky Things in Their Hotel Rooms

Now, we are sure that Americans are also leaving behind some funky stuff when they check-out of hotel rooms (hello, Rudy Giuliani?), but so far, the Brits are the only ones to document it.

Travelodge UK likes to keep a running tab of the most items left behind in a single year. Here's the results for 2006:

According to Travelodge, the 10 most common items left behind are mobile phones and chargers; toiletries; clothing items; shoes; books; hen/stag night accessories/adult toys; jewellery/watches; laptops; electrical gadgets, including iPod and digital cameras; false teeth and artificial limbs.

Nothing here is too surprising, although one hotel reports a suitcase stuffed with collectible celebrity sunglasses (like ones worn by Elton John) was once left behind, as was keys to expensive cars and a soccer team's massage tables.

And believe it or not, artificial limbs do include wooden peg legs.

[Photo: Jennycl]

Related Stories:
· Hotels' haul of lost and found treasure [Manchester Evening News]

Hotel News / Peninsula Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel Surveys / Conde Nast / → All Tags

Condé Nast Travel's Business Travelers' Survey

Last week we pointed to the results of a TripAdvisor survey of business travelers. This week we get a new survey courtesy of the current issue of Condé Nast Travel.

The average traveler in this survey spends around 50 nights a year away from home on business. Findings show that 93 percent travel with a cell phone and 63 percent travel with a laptop. "Somewhat surprisingly, though, only 16 percent pack a BlackBerry or other portable e-mail device." (Perhaps success is inversely related to how obsessed you are with your e-mail? Hmmmm...)

As for hotels, with the magazine running lots of ads for the likes of Rolex and Prada, it's probably no surprise that Best Western didn't make this list. Hong Kong apparently knows how to run hotels: The Peninsula chain came in first and the Mandarin Oriental chain came in third. In second place was the Four Seasons, which had the highest rank in the food category. (Peninsula won the other four categories.) Next up was Ritz-Carlton and fifth was Starwood's Luxury Collection.

So what really matters to these travelers? Here the list wasn't so radically different than the TripAdvisor survey's. Location was the most important, at 88% of respondents. This was followed by comfortable beds, price, security, service, and high-speed Internet access. All the other items received less than 40%, with the business center, spa, and bars/lounges pulling up the rear. They were ranked as "very important" by 10% of respondents or less.

Related Stories:
· Business Travel Awards [Conde Nast]
· Brand Loyal or Stuck in a Rut? TripAdvisor's New Business Traveler Survey [HotelChatter]

Travelodge Hotels / Movie Set Hotels / Hotel Surveys / → All Tags

And the Oscar for Best Hotel Scene Goes To...

Because there's no better way to call attention to your budget lodging chain than by aligning yourself with Hollywood, Travelodge polled over 3,000 people to find out once and for all the Best Hotel Movie Scene.

Pretty Woman's sexy bathtub scene at Regent Beverly Wilshire was voted #1, followed by the shower scene in Psycho. Turns out cinderella stories that involve hookers and Richard Gere hits a nerve with viewers who only slightly prefer bubble-bath romance to shower stalking.

Obviously no hotel movie hit list is complete without props toThe Stanley Hotel from The Shining.

So why does Travelodge "care" about hotel Hollywood? Travelodge Sleep Director and bed tester Wayne Munnelly says, he thought it would be an interesting poll--"Watching TV in bed, can aid a good night sleep, as it helps you to unwind and relax"... except when you are trying to sleep in the hotel where someone is stabbed.

Related Stories:
·  Poll: 'Pretty Woman' Has Best Hotel Scene [Fox News]
·  The Top Ten Memorable Hotel Movies Scenes Ever [Europe Travel News]
·  Hotel Horrors [HotelChatter]
·  Hotel Dream Job--Professional Bed Tester [HotelChatter]