Hotel guests are increasingly happy customers, according to a new report that found that guests were overall more satisfied than they were last year.
The J.D. Power 2026 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study published Tuesday revealed that overall hotel guest satisfaction improved 13 points to 665 on a 1,000-point scale. Some of the metrics that saw the most improvement included value for prices paid, food-and-beverage satisfaction, and facility satisfaction.
The report notes that satisfaction has improved while average daily rate in the United States also rose 1% year over year, according to CoStar data. Although it's an ADR increase, it's still below the rate of inflation, Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power, said.
She explained that ADR increases aside, the study found that hotels are meeting or exceeding expectations from guests.
"The good news is that hotels are firing on all cylinders to still meet that value for money, because value is not always about rate. And often it's not about rate itself. It's how well is the hotel delivering an experience that, based on the rate, that the guest is expecting," she said, adding that it's rare to see a study have across-the-board improvement on all metrics.
In its 30th year, the report now asks guests about artificial intelligence use in their booking process, and millennials and Gen Z account for the majority of the population that uses AI to research or book hotels. Millennials make up 49% of hotel guests using AI while Gen Z accounts for another 23%.
"In our total data set, it was 10% of the guests" surveyed used AI, Stokes said. "In the grand scheme of things, it's kind of small, but we took that number and we said, 'OK, well, who are the folks that are using AI tools? What is their profile?'"
For now, the survey just looked at AI use as a booking channel and asked guests about their use alongside other platforms such as internet search and online travel agencies.
Another takeaway from the new report is the ongoing trend of guests expecting more from hotel amenities. According to the study, hotel guests believe smart TVs with streaming are a standard expectation. Availability of smart TVs is up to 74% and usage is at 62%, according to the survey respondents.
The other things guests are placing an increased emphasis on include daily housekeeping, filtered water stations and fitness centers. In general, Stokes said, consistency is key for hotels continuing to meet guests' expectations.
"When we take a look at [brands with high ratings] when we're trying to figure out what's going on and why guests are so much happier this year than they were last year, we are finding a little bit of an uptick in the consistency and how the guest is perceiving higher consistency across properties, especially for brands that they have experience with," she said.
Also included in the report is a list of the top performing hotel brands across segments. These were this year's winners and their scores out of 1,000 points:
- Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton (785) (for a second consecutive year)
- Upper Upscale: Kimpton (738)
- Upscale: Drury Hotels (761) (for a second consecutive year)
- Upscale Extended Stay: Hyatt House (728) (for a fifth consecutive year)
- Upper Midscale: Hampton by Hilton (704) (for a second consecutive year)
- Upper Midscale/Midscale Extended Stay: Home2 Suites by Hilton (700) (for a fourth consecutive year)
- Midscale: Tru by Hilton (695) (for a fourth consecutive year)
- Economy: Microtel by Wyndham (637) (for a fourth consecutive year)
- Economy Extended Stay: WoodSpring Suites (587) (for a fourth consecutive year)