Travel Satisfaction Is Slipping—But Soften the Edges, and Guests Will Stay

What the 2025 ACSI Study tells us about emotional disconnect—and how brands can lead the rebound.

Each year, the ACSI Travel Study offers one of the clearest snapshots of how travelers feel across the airline, lodging, OTA, and mobility sectors. And this year, the message is unmistakable:

Every major category saw a drop in satisfaction.

✈️ Airlines: down 4%
🏨 Hotels: down 1%
🌐 Online Travel Agencies: down 3%
🚗 Rideshare: down 1% (with Lyft narrowly pulling ahead of Uber)

For anyone in the experience business, it’s a sobering report. But at Meridian Thinking, we see something else hidden in the numbers: opportunity.

Not Just Operational Issues—Emotional Ones

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about delayed flights or clunky apps. The ACSI data reveals that the lowest-scoring service elements are all tied to how travelers feel:

• In-flight Wi-Fi (66) → Frustration

• Usefulness of flight info (71) → Uncertainty

• Courtesy of hotel staff (declining in midscale/upper midscale) → Disconnection

• Ease of reservation → Loss of control

• OTA usability → Decision fatigue

These aren’t just operational breakdowns. They’re emotional signals.

Why Emotional Experience Still Wins

In a sector shaped by operations, emotion is still the edge.

When done right, empathy, tone, recognition, and ease drive loyalty just as much as pricing or perks. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about feeling human.

That’s why brands like Southwest (+3% this year) and Hilton (still leading at 80) continue to resonate. They’ve made the "soft stuff" systemic—baked into how teams communicate, how digital journeys unfold, and how service recovery feels.

Where to Focus in 2025

Satisfaction is slipping—but not irreparably. Here's where brands can gain ground:

✔️ Train for tone. Scripts don’t solve stress. Human judgment does.
✔️ Empower staff. When frontline teams feel seen, so do your guests.
✔️ Communicate clearly. In uncertainty, clarity is a gift.
✔️ Rethink UX. Convenience without care isn’t convenience at all.
✔️ Make loyalty emotional, not just transactional.

Your Brand Can Still Lead the Rebound

The big takeaway from ACSI 2025?

Guests don’t just want efficiency. They want to feel good again.

At Meridian Thinking, we help brands close the gap between operational design and emotional experience. We’ve supported more than 25 hotel, travel, and service brands doing just that—and we’d love to help you do it too.

📬 Feeling stuck, or ready to lead the rebound? Let’s talk.