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Hotel Web Sites Not Doing Too Well

A recent study done by the Customer Respect Group on hotel websites and their "customer-friendliness" show that the industry has a long way to go in offering excellent online service.

Only two of the 14 biggest brands -- Global Hyatt and Marriott International -- scored higher than seven out of 10, or "excellent" performance. The hotel industry average was 5.8 points out of 10, not a stellar score for the increasingly popular method of buying travel -- as well as just about every-thing else. Other industries that the research group monitors, from retail to car rental firms, even airlines, fare much better at being Web-friendly. Only life insurance companies earned worse overall scores than hotels in serving online customers, according to the report.

Some of the major problems with hotel web sites included little or no accessiblity for visually impaired and disabled customers, lack of an instant chat or help line and responsiveness. Responsiveness was measured by how fast an e-mail question was answered and how helpful the response was. The average wait time was reported as 17.5 hours, but overall the grade for the industry as a whole fell to 5.7 from 6.4 last year.

Global Hyatt scored an overall score of 8.3 that was bested only by Intercontinental Hotels with a 9.1. Marriott International also scored high with a 7.5. Oddly enough, Best Western--who we mentioned today as being a top hotel brand in terms of presence--scored the worst out of 14 chains analyzed with a 4.7.

We have a few pet peeves about hotel web site ourselves since we are looking at them all day long. But our first gripe is about that damn music that comes on every time you go to the homepage. It's just not necessary. Never ever.

Related Stories:
· Hotels' web service rated [East Valley Tribune]