The results are in! Booking site Hotel Info surveyed over six million reviews from their hotel guests to find which European cities and countries fare best in guest satisfaction – and you might be quite surprised by what they discovered.
The unexpected guest favourites
Interestingly, eastern and central European cities did much better overall than the traditional tourism hotspots in Western Europe. In the UK, it was cities in the north of England and Scotland that most charmed their guests.
The ratings were collated from the reviews of Hotel Info users. Guests evaluated a hotel on departure using a points system from 0 to 10. In their evaluation, guests rated room quality, staff friendliness, cleanliness, noise, value for money, fitness and spa facilities and the breakfast and restaurant.
The UK winner: Sheffield
Sheffield was the clear winner amongst the UK’s largest cities with 8.03 points out of a possible 10. Jorg Malang, Hotel Info’s CPO, said, ‘The hotels in Sheffield distinguish themselves with an above average quality/price ratio as well as a high standard of service and very friendly personnel’.
Northerners will be pleased to see that Liverpool and Leeds follow Sheffield, with ratings of 7.95 and 7.82 respectively. Scotland has also done well, with Edinburgh and Glasgow coming in at fifth and sixth.
The UK’s two largest cities failed to impress as much as the smaller northern cities: Birmingham ranked ninth with a rating of 7.22 and London came in tenth with 7.12. It may seem an unusual result for the capital, but perhaps the quality/price ratio let London down slightly.
According to figures released in 2014, the average price for a hotel room in London was £137 per night in comparison to Leeds where rooms cost on average £70, it stands to reason then that guests might expect a proportionally better hotel experience.
Warsaw leads the way for European cities
In the European city rankings, Poland’s capital, Warsaw was the overall winner with a rating of 8.37. Bratislava followed with 8.23 and Sofia came in third place with 8.13, Helsinki was fourth with 8.09.
The major European tourist hot spots of Paris, Rome and London are notably absent from the top ten. Zagreb and Budapest however came in at numbers five and six.
Two other European capitals that didn’t make the top ten were Amsterdam, which was awarded just 7.22 points, and Copenhagen, which only received 7.19.
Slovakia has the most satisfied guests in Europe
Hotel Info’s list of European countries largely follows the same pattern as the capitals. Slovakia and Poland gained the first (8.22) and second (8.19) spots respectively, followed by Bulgaria in third place with 8.08 points.
When compared to the other countries in Europe, the UK and Denmark came out worst. The UK had an average score of 7.39 and Denmark’s rating was just 7.18.
Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic came in at fourth, fifth and sixth, whilst Finland was the only Scandinavian country in the top ten at number seven with a rating of 8.
As more travellers head for Eastern Europe for cheaper prices, it's clear that UK hotels should be focussing on that key factor: value for money. Consistently excellent service and a personal approach may be all that's needed to tempt cost-conscious guests back. We look forward to seeing whether UK hotels can break the Fawlty Towers hangover and win back that all-important guest loyalty.