Press Launch Travel Study 2026

Customer Satisfaction With Travel Industries Turns a Corner as Airlines Climb to Near All-Time High, ACSI^® Data Show

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (April 21, 2026) — Travel industries expertise essentially the most “normal” yr in fairly a while because of receding post-pandemic “revenge travel” and operational challenges, cooling inflation, and sustained client demand.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Travel Study 2026, airways, lodging, automotive leases, rideshare, and on-line journey businesses all publish beneficial properties.

Airlines soar 3% to an ACSI rating of 76 (on a scale of 0-100) — one level off its all-time excessive in 2024 — similar as automotive leases, rideshare, and on-line journey businesses, all up 1%. Lodging is barely forward, bettering 1% to a rating of 77.

“Many brands are meeting with initial success in leveraging AI solutions to deliver improved service to customers and in some cases remaking industry business models,” stated Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus on the ACSI. “At the same time, customer value propositions appear to be in flux as consumers recalibrate their expectations. Continued focus on technological innovations, along with the nuts and bolts of customer service, will be critical for firms that wish to fully capitalize on these dynamics.”

Other key takeaways from the examine embrace:

Airlines

• Overall enchancment flows from across-the-board rating will increase in all elements of the flying expertise, with particularly massive jumps in rankings for technology-enabled choices like in-flight web entry (up 20% yr over yr) and the usefulness of flight info supplied by the airways (up 15%).
• Delta (up 3%) strikes to the highest place for satisfaction at 79 as final yr’s chief Southwest (down 4% to 77) retreats. JetBlue (up 1%) and American (up 7%) tie for second at 78. The latter posts substantial ACSI enchancment based mostly partly on buyer appreciation for its loyalty program, significantly amongst enterprise vacationers.
• Lower-cost carriers meet with blended outcomes attributable to a mixture of operational and reputational results. Frontier rises 6% to 69, whereas Spirit drops 4% to 66 — the bottom reported rating for 2026.

Lodging

• Airbnb (up 1%) and Hilton (down 1%) share the highest spot with an ACSI rating of 79. Marriott (unchanged) is subsequent at 78, whereas IHG posts the most important decline, down 4% to 76, following drops for each its Holiday Inn (down 6%) and Holiday Inn Express (down 4%) manufacturers. Wyndham finishes in final place after slipping 1% to 70.
• Satisfaction is rising quicker amongst enterprise vacationers, whose general ACSI rating is up 3% yr over yr.
• Lodging outcomes range by model and kind, with indications that buyer perceptions of the worth propositions of varied lodging sorts could also be in flux as working fashions proceed to evolve.

Car Rentals

• Alamo and Avis (up 7%) paved the way with ACSI scores of 79. The latter, together with National (76), experiences the most important enchancment. Hertz finishes third after inching up 1% to 77.
• Budget (down 5% to 73) and Dollar (down 3% to 71) sit on the backside finish. Budget’s clients report lodging a better share of complaints and are a lot much less pleased with the corporate’s grievance dealing with. It additionally receives decrease rankings for its web site and name facilities. Dollar continues to battle with the very best grievance price amongst all reported manufacturers by a large margin.

Rideshare

• Lyft (down 1%) and Uber (up 1%) transfer right into a first-place tie at 76.
• Uber improves amongst feminine riders because it addresses prior unfavourable press round issues of safety; Lyft demonstrates preliminary success with AI-enabled customer support restoration.

Online Travel Agencies

• Among reported manufacturers, Tripadvisor rises 4% to tie Booking.com (down 1%) at 77. Orbitz partially reverses a ten% decline from a yr in the past by bettering 3%, though it stays on the backside of the rankings at 68.
• Priceline slides 4% to a rating of 71 with a notable leap in buyer complaints, whereas Expedia falls 3% to 75.
• Results replicate successes in a shift of the enterprise mannequin to offering AI-enabled companies like custom-made packages and experiences, and in manufacturers’ deployment of value-adding loyalty applications.
• Satisfaction rises amongst these underneath 42 years outdated, suggesting the business is having extra success profitable over the beforehand unenthusiastic youthful clients.

The ACSI Travel Study 2026 is predicated on 14,910 accomplished surveys. Customers have been chosen at random and contacted through electronic mail between April 2025 and March 2026. Download the complete examine and comply with the ACSI on LinkedIn and X at @theACSI.