Basil Fawlty is no more
UK hotels offer better service than those in the rest of Europe, according to a new survey which shows that British hospitality couldn’t be further from that portrayed by the bad tempered Basil Fawlty in the hit TV series Fawlty Towers.
The survey of more than 1,000 British adults found that UK hotels were rated number one for service followed by Spain in second place and Italy in third.
Hotels in France came bottom.
The research from the Independent Hotel Show in partnership with Travelzoo found that nine out of 10 people believed a bad hotel could be improved with good service.
And two-thirds said the service was the reason why they would rebook.
British service was viewed as ‘formal and polite’ by 35% of respondents and ‘warm and generous’ by 18%.
London and Scotland were ranked as the two regions offering the best customer service within the luxury and budget sectors.
However, respondents were three times more likely to rate hotel service ‘amazing’ outside the UK.
Cleanliness was ranked as the most important factor when recommending a hotel to others, followed by good service and then location.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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