Most people have experienced some kind of hotel horror story. From dirty rooms to unfriendly staff, and worse. Our friends over at Qualtrics, a leading experience management company, set out to learn more about these bad experiences, and what they found contains some surprising results.

What gets them in the door?

Surprisingly, 67% of people surveyed said that they rely on online reviews for deciding where to stay, with 61% of people saying that they will not stay anywhere rated at less than three stars. Luckily, only 24% of people who have a bad experience write a negative review, which leaves some wiggle room for most facilities.

What makes them stay?

As you might expect, the number one factor in determining if a hotel stay will be a good experience is hotel cleanliness. Over three-fourths of people surveyed cite clean rooms as the main reason for a positive experience. Oddly enough, Wifi also ranked high with 65% of people reporting it as their main reason for a good experience.

What makes them leave?

The flip side of what makes them stay is where it gets interesting. Expectedly, Dirty rooms are cited as two-thirds of people’s main reason for a bad experience. But, another 57% of people cited unfriendly employees as the main factor. Oddly, 9% of people say they had a bad experience because their room was haunted. This leaves a lot of opportunities to unwittingly spook some of your visitors away.

What now?

There are lots of ways that you can eliminate the chances of a bad experience for your guests. While some are more …intangible… than others, the biggest attractor is bound to be clean rooms. By providing a room that is clean, you can avoid many negative reviews, and customer service hours spent changing rooms. The best way to start is to evaluate your cleaning process. Are you providing adequate supplies for your employees to clean effectively? Are you allowing enough time per room? Do you have enough staff to cover your needs? Are you using the right products? Are your employees efficiently trained on cleanliness standards?

In conclusion; start responding to your online reviews, call the Ghostbusters, audit your customer service channels, and call Advantage to reinvigorate your cleaning program. To see the full results of the Qualtrics survey, read the infographic here.