Despite operational pressures intensifying worldwide, guest satisfaction climbs again

Global guest satisfaction hits 86.7% as 40M reviews across 12,000 hotels reveal rising expectations and widening regional and segment gaps

BARCELONA, SPAIN, January 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Shiji, the global hospitality technology leader, today released its yearly Guest Experience Benchmark Report, revealing that global guest satisfaction continued its upward trajectory, reaching 86.7%, despite record-breaking tourist arrivals and rising operational pressure across the industry. Based on over 40 million guest reviews, 84 million mentions, and data from 12,000 hotels across eight regions gathered using Shiji Reviewpro, the report confirms that hotels worldwide are coping better than ever with rising guest expectations while navigating uneven regional and segment-level performance.

The 2025 results show a 0.5 percentage point increase in the Global Guest Review Index (GRI) year over year, extending a positive trend that began in 2022. Review volumes also increased 2.1% globally, contradicting forecasts that higher travel volumes would lower guest satisfaction. Notably, during peak season in the Northern Hemisphere, satisfaction levels consistently outperformed 2024, signaling improved operational maturity and service delivery across the industry.

Key global performance highlights:

Across all regions, hotels achieved measurable gains in responsiveness and sentiment.
Global GRI: 86.7%
Positive mentions: 76.1%
Global management response rate: 68.8%
Average hotel response time: 3.5 days
Platform dynamics also shifted significantly, with Google review volume growing 15.7% year over year and HolidayCheck increasing by 14.0%, underscoring a renewed diversification of guest feedback channels. By 2025, the review volume gap between Google and Booking.com narrowed dramatically compared to 2023.

Growth in guest satisfaction was primarily driven by 3-star and 4-star hotels, which recorded increases of 0.6 pp and 0.5 pp, respectively. While 5-star hotels achieved an impressive global GRI of 90.4%, their growth slowed to 0.3 pp, reflecting mounting expectations in the luxury segment.

Regionally, performance diverged sharply:

Middle East: +0.8 pp GRI growth (highest globally)
North America: +0.7 pp
Asia: +0.6 pp
In contrast, luxury hotel growth in Europe and North America has stagnated over the past three years, while Asia and the Middle East continued to post stronger luxury gains.

“In today’s environment, hotels need to continuously monitor sentiment, track their reputation against their competitive set, and understand how expectations are shifting by region and segment.” said Wolfgang Emperger, Senior Vice President and General Manager - Europe, Africa, UK and Reviewpro at Shiji, “That’s exactly why Reviewpro exists: to help our customers stay on top of every mention, respond faster and more consistently, and turn guest feedback into operational action. We’re proud to release this year’s Guest Experience Benchmark Report, which has become the global reference for understanding guest experience trends worldwide and measuring performance in a way that is both actionable and comparable across markets.”
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This year’s edition introduces Central America as a dedicated region, including Mexico, to better capture the distinct guest experience dynamics across the Americas. Asia continued to lead globally with a GRI of 89.4%, while Europe (86.3%), Central America (87.1%), and the Middle East (85.8%) followed behind. North America remained resilient, delivering steady year-over-year growth.


The Guest Experience Benchmark Report 2026 offers a visual deep dive into global, EMEA, APAC, and Americas performance. Hoteliers are able to explore regional trends, platform dynamics, and guest sentiment drivers shaping the year ahead.

Now live! Download the report:
https://insights.shijigroup.com/guest-experience-benchmark/

Franca Bertram
Shiji Group
franca.bertram@shijigroup.com
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