Traveling to the US? Beware!

South African travellers planning trips to the United States may need to lower their expectations, as a new report reveals a broad decline in satisfaction across the US travel industry. Airlines, hotels, car rentals, rideshare services, and online booking platforms all scored lower than they did a year ago.

This is according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Study 2025, based on responses from 16,771 participants surveyed via email between April 2024 and March 2025. Notably, the airline sector – which hit a record high last year – has dropped 4% to an ACSI score of 74, amid softening demand, economic uncertainty, and signs of turbulence ahead for premium services.

“Across much of the travel segment, the satisfaction drop is being driven not by bargain hunters, but by business travellers and other high-value customers,” says Forrest Morgeson, Michigan State University associate professor of marketing, and ACSI director of research emeritus. “With spending patterns under pressure and pricing power fading, providers are going to need to work harder to deliver consistent value across all customer segments.”

Southwest soars to the top of airlines

Southwest, one of only two airlines to improve this year, dethrones Alaska as the top airline and leads the industry after climbing 3% to an ACSI score of 80. Delta and JetBlue are next, both steady at 77, followed by Alaska, which tumbles 7% to 76.

American experiences the sharpest drop, falling 8% to 73. The decline stems from operational setbacks – American consistently shows higher rates of passengers involuntarily bumped from flights than the other mainline carriers – and a loyalty program overhaul that failed to resonate.

Spirit increases 3% to 69 despite facing a decrease in flight operations. The bargain airline appears to be taking advantage of lower volumes to improve its customer service, including eliminating change and cancellation fees for all passengers. Frontier falls to last, dropping 6% to 65.

The erosion extends across the entire customer experience, with the usefulness of flight information (71) and the quality of in-flight Wi-Fi (66) debuting at the bottom.

Hilton holds the top spot in lodging, but IHG narrows the gap

Guest satisfaction with lodging ends a two-year run of increasing scores and slides 1% to an ACSI score of 76.

Hilton continues to lead the industry despite slipping 1% to 80, followed closely by IHG (up 1% to 79). Airbnb (no change) and Marriott (down 1%) are not far behind at 78. G6 Hospitality, the parent company of Motel 6, earns last place at 67 – one spot behind Wyndham, which improves 1% to 71.

Among lodging brands, Marriott Hotels claims first place at 82, followed by Hilton Hotels Resorts (81), IHG’s Holiday Inn Express (81), Hilton’s Hampton (80), and Hilton Garden Inn (80). Wyndham’s Days Inn (70), G6 Hospitality’s Motel 6 (67), and Wyndham’s Baymont (62) are at the bottom.

Nearly every aspect of the legacy lodging business model is changing rapidly, with developments in the broader industry, like the rise of boutique properties and the increase in “bleisure” travel mixing work and play, creating new and shifting customer needs and expectations.

The rise of homeshare brands like Airbnb also pose a challenge to traditional lodging brands, with solid satisfaction ratings that meet and often exceed those of the midscale brands that frequently share their price point.

National slides from first to last in car rentals

Customer satisfaction with the car rental industry declines 3% to 75 as customer complaints accelerate year over year.

National, the industry leader at a stellar 84 last year, was among the top 10 of all companies measured. This year, it plummets 15% to 71 and falls to the bottom of the industry. Customers give National notably lower ratings in nearly every aspect of their experience, but show especially large drops for the pick-up experience, perceptions of value for money, and courtesy and helpfulness of personnel.

A silver lining for National’s parent company is that its namesake brand, Enterprise, leads the industry at 78 (up 1%). Budget is the biggest riser as it moves into second, increasing 5% to 77 by virtue of improvements in its pick-up experience, website, and mobile app. Hertz, down 3%, comes in third at 76, followed by Avis, which suffers a notable 5% decline in renter satisfaction to 74 due to lower customer ratings of the pick-up and drop-off experience.

The study results give another indication of technology’s role in providing satisfying customer experiences. Customers who book their rentals directly rather than through an online or traditional travel agent report dramatically higher levels of satisfaction.

Lyft edges out Uber as rideshare satisfaction slips

Satisfaction with rideshare services shows a small decline, falling 1% from its debut last year to 75.

Market leader Uber slips 1% to an ACSI score of 75. Meanwhile, Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, posts a 1% improvement to lead the industry at 77.

First-time and infrequent Lyft users (three times per month or less) post a satisfaction increase of 7%, whereas the most frequent users (those using the service six times or more in the past month) show a 3% satisfaction drop.

Rideshare services show the steepest declines in key areas of the experience, including ease of drop-off, ease of identifying the driver, payment options, and driver courtesy.

Booking.com stays on top despite across-the-board declines

Online travel agencies (OTAs) drop 3% to an ACSI score of 75, with all the measured brands and all components of the customer experience declining. As airlines and hotels have improved their website experiences, more customers are skipping OTAs to book travel and experiences directly.

Booking.com remains in first place despite dropping 3% to 78. Other Booking Holdings brands also slip: Priceline slides 3% to 74 and Kayak drops 5% to 69. Expedia (77), smaller travel agencies (76), and Tripadvisor (74) all slip 3%. Orbitz sits in last place after dropping a striking 10% to an ACSI score of 66.

* Download the ACSI Travel Study 2025 here.