Americans Agree That This Popular Hotel Chain Is Easily One Of The Worst In The Country

Most of us don't give much thought to hotel chains. When we log on to a booking service, we scroll down the list of prices, cross-reference with a map, and murmur to ourselves, "This one looks fine." Yes, travelers may have a favorite, and maybe they'll get memberships and credit cards that earn them points and free stays. But to most of us, a chain hotel is an unremarkable convenience — a cluster of familiar buildings near the airport or edge of town. Does it have parking? Check. Free breakfast? Check. Is it a pet-friendly hotel chain? Even better!

But one hotel chain appears to stand out, and not in a flattering way. According to a recent survey by Which?, a U.K. nonprofit that gathers data on consumer products, Wyndham scored surprisingly low on a list of international hotel chains (via the Independent). The brand did well in categories like "cleanliness" (four stars out of five) and "bed comfort" (also four stars), but earned three stars for "value for money" and two for "food and drink." The final approval rating was a glum 60%, falling behind such generic names as Best Western (72%) and Holiday Inn Express (69%).

This may surprise a lot readers. The Wyndham company describes itself as "the largest and most diverse collection of hotel experiences in the world, with 9,300 hotels in 95 countries." With its classy name and many excellent locations — Cancún, Istanbul, downtown Pittsburgh (pictured above) — you'd think this brand would perform far better. So what's the deal with Wyndham?

To start, we should be conscious of where these statistics came from. The results derived from a survey of 2,196 people, who are all members of the Which? organization. One of the categories, "Description Matches Reality," has only a dash for Wyndham, and it's hard to say whether this means "no answer" or "zero." Did this affect the overall score? Hard to say. Some hotel chains, like the international brand considered the most luxurious in the world, weren't even included.

It's helpful to consult a separate report, like this one by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which surveyed a sample of 16,352 customers. In the section "Best and Worst Hotel Chains in America," the results were also not encouraging: Wyndham scored 70 out of a possible 100, with a 3% decline over the previous year. To be fair, though, Hilton scored the best, with a score of only 81, and Airbnb was also included, with a score of 78.

Then there are review sites, like this one on Consumer Affairs. It's hard to argue with 1,403 reviews, nearly all of which give Wyndham Hotels one star (out of five). When it comes to voluntary reviews, there is the usual bias: Most people prefer to gush about a place they love or decry a place they loathe; there's very little in the middle. Reviews also cover a wide range of properties, from resorts to time shares, and circumstances vary considerably. But these reviews include pictures of roaches and mold, a screen shot of a disputed claim, and reports of poor customer service at every level.

Wyndham is a behemoth enterprise, and most guests have no idea how many properties the company owns. Chains like La Quinta, Ramada, Days Inn, and Super 8 are all divisions of Wyndham, and nearly all of Wyndham Hotels' locations are franchised. The quality of each location relies a great deal on individual franchisees, instead of an overarching corporate management.

That said, from the thousands of negative reviews online, the Wyndham brand could clearly benefit from upgrading facilities and improving customer service. Whatever the metrics and no matter what the biases of any particular survey, this tidal wave of dissatisfied customers is probably onto something. The Wyndham name is everywhere, and the company grossed $1.32 billion in 2024, a 1.84% increase over the previous year, so they seem to be weathering the criticism just fine. Some sprucing up — and improved management — could do wonders for the name. Whatever they do, they'll definitely fare better than than the U.K.'s worst-rated hotel.