Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark
Study Details
The third-party hotel management market is a unique niche for which there is very limited information available on competitor performance on guest satisfaction. While hotel operators rely on franchisor-executed guest satisfaction survey programs and external feedback platforms such as TripAdvisor®, neither provides in-depth diagnostics of how hotel staff deliver the guest experience. With no benchmark for third-party hotel management, how can third-party operators identify strengths and weaknesses—and those of their competitors—in responding to guest expectations? Further, how can operators address critical guest experience issues to improve Owner retention and ROI?
The Solution
JD Power’s Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark enables third-party hotel management firms to:
- Measure service quality and key factors driving guest satisfaction across properties under management.
- Benchmark guest satisfaction performance against other third-party operators.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities via performance diagnostics in all areas of operation including front-of-house staff service, guest rooms and housekeeping, food & beverage, services/amenities and more.
- Align strategic planning and guest experience initiatives to optimize Owner satisfaction and to support new business development.
The Benchmark subscription provides access to the tools needed to gain a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of how your company is performing relative to your competitors from the viewpoint of the guest and to identify areas needing improvement.
The third-party hotel management market is a unique niche for which there is very limited information available on competitor performance on guest satisfaction. While hotel operators rely on franchisor-executed guest satisfaction survey programs and external feedback platforms such as TripAdvisor®, neither provides in-depth diagnostics of how hotel staff deliver the guest experience. With no benchmark for third-party hotel management, how can third-party operators identify strengths and weaknesses—and those of their competitors—in responding to guest expectations? Further, how can operators address critical guest experience issues to improve Owner retention and ROI?
The Solution
JD Power’s Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark enables third-party hotel management firms to:
- Measure service quality and key factors driving guest satisfaction across properties under management.
- Benchmark guest satisfaction performance against other third-party operators.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities via performance diagnostics in all areas of operation including front-of-house staff service, guest rooms and housekeeping, food & beverage, services/amenities and more.
- Align strategic planning and guest experience initiatives to optimize Owner satisfaction and to support new business development.
The Benchmark subscription provides access to the tools needed to gain a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of how your company is performing relative to your competitors from the viewpoint of the guest and to identify areas needing improvement.
Benefits
The Benefits
Third-party management companies that subscribe to the program will be better able to understand their competitive position at a detailed level, enabling them to pinpoint critical areas for improvement as well as to guide owners and developers to make prudent investments in the areas that matter most to guests.
Subscription deliverables include:
- Competitive benchmarking of guest experience across a set of properties under management, enabling direct comparisons to competitors. Third-party management firms are benchmarked on an “apples-to-apples” basis because we eliminate portfolio size and segment effects on guest satisfaction scores. (See methodology details below.)
- An executive presentation that provides in-depth analysis of your company’s results compared with those of your industry peers, improvement areas with the biggest impact on guest satisfaction and recommendations for action.
- A simulator tool allowing you to simulate hotel operations improvements' impact an overall guest satisfaction and to understand how improvements put your firm ahead of the competition.
- The Benchmark raw dataset plus access to JD Power subject matter experts and analysts for assistance in using the raw data.
The Benefits
Third-party management companies that subscribe to the program will be better able to understand their competitive position at a detailed level, enabling them to pinpoint critical areas for improvement as well as to guide owners and developers to make prudent investments in the areas that matter most to guests.
Subscription deliverables include:
- Competitive benchmarking of guest experience across a set of properties under management, enabling direct comparisons to competitors. Third-party management firms are benchmarked on an “apples-to-apples” basis because we eliminate portfolio size and segment effects on guest satisfaction scores. (See methodology details below.)
- An executive presentation that provides in-depth analysis of your company’s results compared with those of your industry peers, improvement areas with the biggest impact on guest satisfaction and recommendations for action.
- A simulator tool allowing you to simulate hotel operations improvements' impact an overall guest satisfaction and to understand how improvements put your firm ahead of the competition.
- The Benchmark raw dataset plus access to JD Power subject matter experts and analysts for assistance in using the raw data.
Methodology
The JD Power Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark is based on our own Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study survey which collects guest feedback for branded hotel stays during the months of May to April/May each year across every STR segment. Hotel stays are identified via a screening process in the survey that:
- The guest stayed in a branded hotel in North America in the past 30 days. (Stays at non-branded/independent hotels are not included.)
- The guest can verify the property at which they stayed (prompted with the actual hotel name as reported by STR).
The survey captures satisfaction ratings across the entire stay experience with multiple elements within each of the following:
- Arrival and departure (front desk, staff service, etc.)
- Guest room (cleanliness, condition, quality of linens, etc.)
- Food & beverage (includes breakfast and other F&B such as restaurants and bars in full-service properties)
- Services and Amenities (such as fitness centers, pools, etc.)
- Hotel facilities (includes parking, grounds, and safety and security)
- Costs & fees (given the quality and service received for room rate and any fees paid)
Property-level stay data is aggregated to the operator/management company for the property as reported by STR. Stay ratings are calculated and aggregated to obtain the overall satisfaction with the hotel stay. Data also include:
- Guest profiling (demographics, loyalty program membership, hotel amenity preferences and more)
Stay profiling (purpose of stay, length of stay, companions, booking method via direct or indirect/OTA, services/amenities used during stay, facilities used during stay, food & beverage used during stay, and more)
The JD Power Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark is based on our own Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study survey which collects guest feedback for branded hotel stays during the months of May to April/May each year across every STR segment. Hotel stays are identified via a screening process in the survey that:
- The guest stayed in a branded hotel in North America in the past 30 days. (Stays at non-branded/independent hotels are not included.)
- The guest can verify the property at which they stayed (prompted with the actual hotel name as reported by STR).
The survey captures satisfaction ratings across the entire stay experience with multiple elements within each of the following:
- Arrival and departure (front desk, staff service, etc.)
- Guest room (cleanliness, condition, quality of linens, etc.)
- Food & beverage (includes breakfast and other F&B such as restaurants and bars in full-service properties)
- Services and Amenities (such as fitness centers, pools, etc.)
- Hotel facilities (includes parking, grounds, and safety and security)
- Costs & fees (given the quality and service received for room rate and any fees paid)
Property-level stay data is aggregated to the operator/management company for the property as reported by STR. Stay ratings are calculated and aggregated to obtain the overall satisfaction with the hotel stay. Data also include:
- Guest profiling (demographics, loyalty program membership, hotel amenity preferences and more)
Stay profiling (purpose of stay, length of stay, companions, booking method via direct or indirect/OTA, services/amenities used during stay, facilities used during stay, food & beverage used during stay, and more)
Key Dates*
- Fielding runs in tandem with the North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study
- 2026 Final Results and Press Release: September 2, 2026
(*Subject to change; updated 03/18/2026)
Profiled Brands
Complete brand list will be available upon study publication
- Aimbridge Hospitality
- Atrium Hospitality
- Concord Hospitality
- Crescent Hotels & Resorts
- Crestline Hotels & Resorts
- Davidson Hospitality Group
- Dimension Hospitality
- Driftwood Hospitality Management
- GF Hotels & Resorts
- HEI Hotels and Resorts
- HHM Hotels
- Highgate Hotels
- Hotel Equities
- MCR Hotels
- Pyramid Global Hospitality
- Remington Hospitality
- Schulte Hospitality Group
- White Lodging
Updated 12/16/2024
Complete brand list will be available upon study publication
- Aimbridge Hospitality
- Atrium Hospitality
- Concord Hospitality
- Crescent Hotels & Resorts
- Crestline Hotels & Resorts
- Davidson Hospitality Group
- Dimension Hospitality
- Driftwood Hospitality Management
- GF Hotels & Resorts
- HEI Hotels and Resorts
- HHM Hotels
- Highgate Hotels
- Hotel Equities
- MCR Hotels
- Pyramid Global Hospitality
- Remington Hospitality
- Schulte Hospitality Group
- White Lodging
Updated 12/16/2024
Press Release & Award Information
JD Power will issue a national press release that will highlight key findings and trends from the stud(ies) and includes top-to-bottom rankings of the brands in the study that meet JD Power’s predetermined research criteria. The brand(s) that ranks highest in each of the segments profiled and meets predetermined award criteria will have the opportunity to leverage their award publicly through the JD Power award licensing program, which requires subscribing to the study as a prerequisite.
Brands that rank above the industry average for their segment and subscribe to the study earn the opportunity to commission a JD Power Performance Report. JD Power Performance Reports are customized, client-commissioned reports that highlight above-average performance by companies in JD Power syndicated studies. Each report is written and designed by JD Power, and features research findings and charts from the study, with a focus on sponsoring client's ranking and performance. Learn More
JD Power will issue a national press release that will highlight key findings and trends from the stud(ies) and includes top-to-bottom rankings of the brands in the study that meet JD Power’s predetermined research criteria. The brand(s) that ranks highest in each of the segments profiled and meets predetermined award criteria will have the opportunity to leverage their award publicly through the JD Power award licensing program, which requires subscribing to the study as a prerequisite.
Brands that rank above the industry average for their segment and subscribe to the study earn the opportunity to commission a JD Power Performance Report. JD Power Performance Reports are customized, client-commissioned reports that highlight above-average performance by companies in JD Power syndicated studies. Each report is written and designed by JD Power, and features research findings and charts from the study, with a focus on sponsoring client's ranking and performance. Learn More
Make decisions with confidence.
Subscribers to this study have full access to benchmark reporting, competitor analysis, and more with PowerSource.
Subscribers to this study have full access to benchmark reporting, competitor analysis, and more with PowerSource.
JD Power Solutions
Traveler View
Traveler View is an innovative information solution that uses guests’ smartphones to collect on demand feedback. It works with a hotel’s Wi-Fi system to deliver short, in-the-moment surveys to guests who authenticate to the Wi-Fi.
Learn more
North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index
JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study measures guest satisfaction with the entire hotel stay experience, from pre-stay communication to check-out, based on a recent guest stay.
Learn more
Customer Service Best Practices
Learn what constitutes a great experience to understand drivers of dissatisfaction and optimize service channels to deliver superior service.
Learn more
Traveler View
Traveler View is an innovative information solution that uses guests’ smartphones to collect on demand feedback. It works with a hotel’s Wi-Fi system to deliver short, in-the-moment surveys to guests who authenticate to the Wi-Fi.
North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index
JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study measures guest satisfaction with the entire hotel stay experience, from pre-stay communication to check-out, based on a recent guest stay.
Customer Service Best Practices
Learn what constitutes a great experience to understand drivers of dissatisfaction and optimize service channels to deliver superior service.
