North American hotel guest satisfaction improved across every major touchpoint in 2026, as investments in guestrooms, property upkeep and service continue to elevate the guest experience, according to the latest JD Power 2026 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. The annual study, now in its 30th year, found overall guest satisfaction rose 13 points year over year to 665 on a 1,000-point scale.
“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. 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,” Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at JD Power, said in a statement. “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 artificial intelligence (AI) tools are beginning to reshape the hotel discovery process.”
The study found the largest gains in value for prices paid, which increased 18 points year over year, followed by food-and-beverage satisfaction and hotel facility satisfaction, each up 14 points. Notably, this improvement comes in the context of the average daily rate for a U.S. hotel room rising about 1 percent year over year.
Guest expectations also continue to evolve. Smart TVs with streaming capabilities continue to transition from a premium guest room amenity to a standard expectation, with availability increasing to 74 percent and guest usage rising to 62 percent (both up 2 percentage points year over year). Guests are also placing greater emphasis on health and wellness, identifying daily housekeeping (46 percent), filtered water stations (30 percent) and fitness centers (21 percent) as “need to have” amenities.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to influence how travelers research hotels as well. JD Power added new measurements for AI use during the hotel-shopping process and found that younger travelers are leading adoption. Gen Y travelers account for 49 percent of AI users researching hotels, while Gen Z represents 23 percent.
The results align with trends discussed in a recent Hotel Management feature marking the study's 30th anniversary. In that article, JD Power noted that the survey has evolved alongside major industry shifts, from the rise of online booking and review platforms to mobile technology and now AI-powered travel planning. The company also revealed that the 2026 study includes new questions related to social media influencers, online chat tools and AI-assisted hotel searches.
That retrospective article also highlighted that although guest expectations have changed significantly since the first hotel satisfaction study launched in 1997, core drivers such as front-desk service, guestroom cleanliness, room condition and food-and-beverage quality remain fundamental measures of satisfaction.
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)
- Economy Extended Stay: WoodSpring Suites (587) (for a fourth consecutive year)
The 2026 study measures guest satisfaction across seven dimensions: check-in/check-out, hotel connectivity, hotel facility, food and beverage, guestroom, staff service and value for prices paid. This year's results are based on responses from 44,787 guests who stayed at branded hotels between May 2025 and May 2026 and evaluate 104 brands across nine hotel segments. For more information about the North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/north-america-hotel-guest-satisfaction-study/.
