by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:15 AM ET, Wed September 3, 2025
Higher operating costs are becoming a growing concern among third-party hotel management companies this year as guests become less satisfied with several aspects of the hotel experience, according to the newly released J.D. Power 2025 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark.
Released today, the report finds that guest satisfaction for quality of food, cleanliness of dining areas and food and beverage ambiance are all lower than they were last year.
Additionally, hotel facility maintenance also decreased this year, with guest satisfaction dropping for exterior and grounds, along with maintenance of pool areas, fitness rooms and more.
What has remained strong is staff service and guest room appearance, which are aligned with the guest satisfaction of 2024.
"In hotels where the owner is not operating the property, guest satisfaction ultimately rests with third-party management companies that operate on behalf of hotel owners," said Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power. "While these companies are all focused on bringing a level of standardization and consistency to the guest experience, we're starting to see some challenges emerge where guest satisfaction is faltering, particularly for quality of food and beverage and hotel facilities upkeep, which can often indicate rising costs."
The report also rated the top third-party hotel management companies on a 1,000-point scale of guest satisfaction and found Atrium Hospitality in first place, with 722 points.
In second was Crescent Hotels & Resorts, with 708 points, and then Columbia Sussex and Davidson Hospitality Group took a shared third place with 703 points each.
The study average in guest satisfaction was 682 points.
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