Warner Leisure tops Which customer survey of hotels
Warner Leisure has topped a poll of more than 6,000 members of consumer group Which?, who were asked to rate their experience of 34 hotel chains.
The company's 13 adult-only hotels, which are found on the coast or deep in the countryside and specialise in leisure breaks for two or more nights, achieved a customer score of 79% in the survey for Which? Travel.
Hampton by Hilton and Sofitel also scored highly in the survey. Hampton by Hilton is a range of 14 cut-price Hilton offshoots found in urban areas and at a few airports, while Sofitel has only three hotels in the UK - at Gatwick airport, Heathrow Terminal 5 and in central London.
Bottom of the pile was Comfort Inn, which achieved a customer score of only 41%. Britannia hotels and Travelodge were close behind with scores of 42% and 46%.
The three lowest-scoring chains are all budget businesses, but Which? said its members also gave them low ratings for value for money.
In a snapshot price comparison it said it found that a room booked through three of the six highest-scoring companies would be nearly twice as cheap as booking an equivalent through Comfort Inn or Britannia.
A Which? spokesperson said: "Our survey reveals big gaps in quality between some of the best known hotel chains in the country. The top rated hotels scored highly for customer service, cleanliness, location and a decent breakfast so it's clear what people are looking for in a good night's stay. Our findings show some of the no-frills hotel chains, in particular, need to raise their game and provide a better service."
To produce customer scores for each hotel chain, Which? asked it members how satisfied they were overall with the experience and how likely they were to recommend it to a friend. Each hotel chain was rated on customer service, value for money, cleanliness, design and décor, location and the quality of the breakfast.
By Neil Gerrard
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