“For 30 years, JD Power has provided the industry with unbiased guest satisfaction benchmarks against which hotel chains and brands drive continuous quality and service improvement,” said Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead, JD Power. “This year’s study results show that hotels are firing on all cylinders. In every hotel segment, guests are having better experiences due to positive interactions with hotel staff, higher quality food and beverage and guest room improvements. Improvements in courtesy from front desk staff, responsiveness to guest requests and the maintenance and upkeep of shared amenities such as pools and fitness centers, among others, are all elevating perceptions of the guest experience. At the same time, the study results reveal AI tools are beginning to reshape the hotel discovery process.”
The following are some key findings of the 2026 study:
- Industry-wide guest satisfaction improves across every touchpoint: Overall hotel guest satisfaction improves 13 points (on a 1,000-point scale) to 665 this year, with year-over-year increases observed across all dimensions of the hotel stay, led by value for prices paid (+18 points on a 1,000-point scale), food and beverage satisfaction (+14) and the hotel facility satisfaction (+14). Notably, this improvement comes in the context of the ADR for a U.S. hotel room rising about 1% year-over-year.
- Today’s extras are tomorrow’s expectations: Smart TVs with streaming capabilities continue to transition from a premium guestroom amenity to a standard expectation, with availability increasing to 74% and guest usage rising to 62% (both up 2 percentage points year over year). Guests are also placing greater emphasis on health and wellness, identifying daily housekeeping (46%), filtered water stations (30%) and fitness centers (21%) as “need-to-have” amenities.
- AI tools start to influence research: The study now measures the proportion of hotel guests using AI tools for hotel research and shows that AI-based research is concentrated among younger generations. Among those using AI tools in the hotel research process, Gen Y accounts for 49% and Gen Z accounts for 23% of all users.
Index ranking
The following hotel brands rank highest in overall guest satisfaction in their respective segment:
- 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)
