Rick Garlick wants hoteliers to forget their predispositions about millennial travelers and talk about how to attract the millennial travelers.

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Rick Garlick wants hoteliers to forget their predispositions about millennial travelers. Though long thought to be brand-agnostic, the cohort is proving to be quite the opposite.

“Millennials are just as committed as anybody else,” said the global travel and hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power, which on Wednesday released its “2014 North America hotel guest satisfaction index study.”

Hoteliers just have to work harder to earn that loyalty, Garlick told Hotel News Now.

“The moral of the story is millennials travelers, you can get their loyalty. You might have to work harder for it. You might have a more critical traveler. But if you can make a positive impression on a Gen Y traveler possibly through a positive staff interaction, you can potentially have a loyal traveler for life,” he said.

Overall satisfaction in 2014 averaged 784 points on a 1000-point scale, up 27 points from 2012, according to the study, which compiled responses from more than 67,000 guests in Canada and the United States. This year’s score marks the highest level since J.D. Power revised its methodology in 2006.

Millennials report significantly lower satisfaction scores when it comes to the hotel experience overall, the study found. The cohort is more critical of their stays than other generational groups.

That’s especially true when it comes to interactions with staff. When millennials report a low opinion of hotel staff, their satisfaction scores (based on a 1,000-point scale) is more than 300 points lower than scores among millennials who report a high opinion of staff.

Increased competition among brands

Several brands notched major gains during the past year. Garlick named InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (up 21 points to 845), Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (up 17 points to 842) and Delta Hotels and Resorts (up 34 points to 800) as examples.

Many brands that stood pat saw their scores surpassed by competitors. That was the case in the luxury segment, where Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts jumped 10 points to surpass Ritz-Carlton, which reported relatively flat year-over-year growth.

The following hotel brands rank highest in guest satisfaction in their respective segments:

luxury: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts;

upper upscale: Kimpton Hotels (for a second consecutive year);

upscale: Hilton Garden Inn;

midscale full service: Holiday Inn (for a fourth consecutive year);

midscale: Drury Hotels (for a ninth consecutive year);

economy/budget: Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham (for a second consecutive year);

upper extended stay: Homewood Suites by Hilton (for a second consecutive year); and

extended stay: Candlewood Suites.

Of note was the 801 average score reported by midscale hotels, which represents the first time the segment has scored over 800, Garlick said.

“(Guests are) getting a much better hotel product and service in 2014 than they got a few years ago,” he said. “The things we take for granted today are the things that were really innovative years ago (e.g., free breakfast, free Internet, lifestyle brands, upgraded beds and room décor). The industry is just getting better all the time. That’s the big takeaway.”

Cleanliness key

Clean rooms make for happier guests, the study found. Dirty rooms had the greatest negative impact on satisfaction (213 points).

“That particular attribute hides in plain sight,” Garlick said. “It’s a deal-buster.”

Of the seven attributes J.D. Power examines to determine overall satisfaction, those focused on the physical property saw the largest increases this year, he said. During 2013, the largest gains were realized by factors more closely aligned with service.

That makes sense given the emphasis put on property renovations and refreshes, Garlick said.

Issues with Internet connectivity—or the lack thereof—was cited twice as often as any other guest problem, according to the study. The negative impact of these problems is relatively consistent regardless of whether Internet access is complimentary or guests have to pay an additional fee for it.

Actionable insights

Garlick stressed the importance of managing a hotel’s online reputation and brand image.

“You can’t separate experience from brand perception,” he said.

When guests have a positive impression of a particular brand, they are far more likely to pay attention to the good parts of their stays. Guest who book with brands they perceive negatively are far more likely to pay attention to all the bad things, Garlick explained.

The report found hotel brands perceived as being exciting and trendsetters receive the highest number of positive recommendations, while those perceived as environmentally careless receive the highest number of negative comments.

“If you have positive brand imagery, it’s sometimes associated with hundreds of satisfaction points,” Garlick said.