Hotel Brands Top KPMG’s Global Customer Experience List

Travel and hotel brands topped customer experience rankings in nine out of twenty global markets, according to KPMG Nunwood’s latest customer experience report – ‘Customer First. Customer Obsessed.’

The analysis of over 84,000 consumers across 20 countries, regions and jurisdictions, saw brands such as Singapore Airlines and ÖAMTC retain their number one positions in their respective markets for a second year running.

Top performing travel brands globally:

In the UK specifically, Virgin Atlantic ranked 8^th out of all British brands for customer experience, however unlike the global findings, the travel and hotels sector ranked seventh overall in the UK.

Looking more closely at the key drivers of customer experience* – global brands found that personalization was the biggest driver of customer loyalty and advocacy. Conversely, empathy – or achieving an understanding of the customer’s circumstances to drive a better rapport – was the component most brands struggled with globally.

Commenting on the latest findings, Will Hawkley, KPMG’s Global Head of Leisure & Hospitality, says, “It is great to see the hotels and travel sector leading the way in our Global Customer Experience Excellence analysis. This result is testament to the industry’s keen focus on experience, and specifically its investment in personalization. Each traveler looks for something different, and the same consumer will have very different needs depending on the circumstance. This means hoteliers and travel companies not only have to provide specific experiences to different individual travelers, but also to the same traveler depending on their reason for booking, which is no mean feat.

“For many brands the most pressing challenge is finding a balance between new technologies with the clear need for human interaction in this sector. Customers want to benefit from the value and convenience technology provides, but in many cases they also want to feel looked after and that requires a personal touch. Delivering this requires deep insight into what customers want, as well as a high level of execution capability, and the leading brands are clearly investing in both.”

To read the full KPMG Global Customer Experience Excellence report: ‘Customer First: Customer Obsessed’ please click here.