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UK hotels are the highest ranked for good customer service in Europe, according to a new study from the Independent Hotel Show (IHS) and Travelzoo.
The study of 1,000 UK adults found that hotels in Spain and Italy are ranked second and third, while hotels in France were rated the lowest for customer service.
The survey highlighted that good service is a redeeming factor when other attributes of a hotel fall short. Nine out of ten respondents said good service could rectify their impression of a “bad hotel” and is the top reason why two-thirds of customers would re-book.
Good hotel service was also found to have a positive word-of-mouth appeal, with 40% of respondents saying it would make them reccomend a hotel to friends and family – second only to the cleanliness of a hotel and 50% more important than the hotel’s restaurant.
Boutique and luxury hotels were found to be the preferred hotel of choice of 42% respondents, followed by chains hotels (29%) and budget hotels (10%).
Respondents’ biggest bugbears regarding hotel service are surly or condescending staff (38%), not following up on requests (21%) and struggling to get staff’s attention (15%).
However, guests are six times more likely to post a positive review of a hotel than a negative one.
Miranda Martin, event manager at IHS, said: “We are thrilled that the UK has been ranked best for hotel service in Europe. The thousands of visitors to the Independent Hotel Show run the most revered luxury and boutique hotels in the country and these results are testament to the outstanding service that makes them such desirable, unique and popular destinations.”
Peter Hancock, chief executive of Pride of Britain Hotels added that nothing can be more important at the luxury and boutique end of the market than service.
