It’s no secret that guest satisfaction is a key driver of financial success, especially in today’s competitive market. When travelers have options, they reward hotels that consistently deliver the fundamentals—and cleanliness is a baseline guests expect.

A third-party survey of 598 hotel guests conducted on behalf of Ecolab examines what drives hotel selection, what leads guests to return or not and which factors most often result in negative reviews or reduced guest satisfaction scores.

The findings are clear: cleanliness is one of the top factors that guests use to choose a hotel, and it is one that hotels can directly control. It also strongly influences reviews and can lower ratings for an otherwise excellent stay, shaping satisfaction, repeat intent and future bookings.

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Hotel cleanliness can help attract new guests and drive repeat stays

From the moment guests step into the lobby, they quickly begin forming impressions about cleanliness—shaping perceptions of hygiene, safety and how well the property is run.1, 2 And, it isn’t just what they see. They evaluate cleanliness with all of their senses, including what a hotel smells like, how clean the lobby looks, and how the linens feel.

Year over year cleanliness continues to be a key indicator of guest satisfaction, with 40% of people surveyed rating cleanliness as one of their top three factors when choosing a hotel, behind only price and location.

Additionally, four out of the top five issues that would cause guests to choose a different hotel on a future trip are related to cleanliness. Notably, these factors outweigh staff interactions and service issues.