Collect Feedback with Surveys: Hotel Indigo Case

For hospitality brands, keeping guests happy isn’t just about clean rooms or good service—it’s about knowing why they’re happy (or not). That’s where online survey and customer feedback come in. These tools turn vague comments (“The stay was nice”) into specific insights (“Guests love the local art, but hate waiting for room service”). For Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel chain focused on “local flavor,” using online survey to capture customer feedback didn’t just lift satisfaction scores—it turned first-time guests into repeat visitors.

1. Hotel Indigo’s Pain Point: They Didn’t Know “Why” Guests Left

Hotel Indigo prides itself on blending into local neighborhoods—each hotel has art from local artists and menu items made with regional ingredients. But last year, they noticed a trend: while most guests rated their stay “good,” only 40% came back. They had plenty of customer feedback (guests mentioned “slow service” or “small rooms”), but no way to turn those comments into action.

They needed a way to ask targeted questions—not just “How was your stay?” but “What would make you book with us again?” An online survey seemed like the answer, but they had two worries:

Would guests actually take the time to fill it out?

Could they turn the data into clear steps to fix problems?

2. Using CSAT Survey to Measure “Real” Satisfaction (and What CSAT Meaning Actually Is)

First, Hotel Indigo needed a way to measure satisfaction that made sense for their brand. They chose a CSAT survey—short for Customer Satisfaction Score. If you’re new to this, here’s the simple csat meaning: it’s a quick way to ask guests “How satisfied were you with your stay?” (usually on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is “very satisfied”).

But they didn’t stop at a single question. They used a survey maker to build a CSAT survey that included:

The core CSAT question (“How satisfied were you with your room service experience?”)

Follow-up questions (“What made the wait time frustrating?”)

Open-ended comments (“Is there anything we’re missing that other hotels have?”)

To get guests to participate, they added a small incentive: “Fill out this 2-minute survey, and get 15% off your next booking.” They sent the online survey via email 24 hours after guests checked out—when the stay was still fresh in their minds.

3. From Feedback to Action: How Survey Maker Simplified Data

Within 6 weeks, Hotel Indigo collected over 2,500 responses. The data was eye-opening:

65% of guests who rated their stay “3/5” (neutral) said “long wait times for room service” was the main issue.

80% of guests who mentioned “local art” said it made their stay “more memorable”—but 30% didn’t notice the art at all (they never saw the hotel’s guided art tours).

To organize this data, they used a survey maker (with built-in charts and filters) to sort responses by hotel location. For example:

The Chicago hotel had the longest room service wait times (average 45 minutes).

The Portland hotel’s art tours were only advertised once a day—so most guests missed them.

They also calculated their CSAT score using the basic csat formula: (Number of guests who rated 4 or 5 / Total number of guests) x 100. Their initial score was 62—they set a goal to hit 75 in 3 months.

4. How They Fixed Problems (and Boosted CSAT Scores)

Hotel Indigo didn’t just collect data—they acted fast:

For room service waits: The Chicago hotel added 2 more servers during dinner rush, and started offering “express menu” items that took 15 minutes or less.

For art tours: All hotels began advertising tours 3 times a day (via in-room TVs and lobby signs), and added a “local art guide” to guest welcome packets.

They also followed up with guests who left negative feedback: one guest complained about a broken AC, so the hotel manager sent a personalized email apologizing and offering a free night’s stay.

After 3 months, they ran another CSAT survey. Their score jumped to 78—beating their goal. Even better, repeat bookings rose from 40% to 58%. One guest wrote in the survey: “I loved that you fixed the room service wait—this is my third time booking, and I’ll keep coming back.”

5. Why SurveyMars Makes This Easier for Any Brand

Hotel Indigo used a basic survey maker, but brands like theirs often switch to SurveyMars for one big reason: it’s simple enough for non-tech teams, but powerful enough to turn customer feedback into action.

SurveyMars has pre-built CSAT survey templates—so you don’t have to start from scratch. It also calculates your CSAT score automatically (no need to mess with the csat formula manually). Plus, its online survey tool works on mobile—80% of Hotel Indigo’s guests filled out the survey on their phones, and SurveyMars’ mobile-friendly design meant no one gave up mid-way.

For small to mid-sized brands, SurveyMars also lets you segment feedback by location, date, or guest type—just like Hotel Indigo did. That means you don’t just get a list of comments; you get clear, actionable insights for each part of your business.

Final Takeaway: Online Survey + Customer Feedback = Loyal Guests

Hotel Indigo’s story shows that online survey isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s how you turn happy guests into loyal ones. By using a CSAT survey to measure satisfaction, a survey maker to organize data, and acting fast on feedback, they turned their biggest pain point (low repeat bookings) into a strength.

For any brand—whether you’re a hotel, a café, or a retail store—customer feedback is only useful if you can act on it. SurveyMars makes that easy: it takes the guesswork out of building surveys, calculating scores, and turning data into steps. With SurveyMars, you don’t just collect customer feedback—you use it to make your business better.

And at the end of the day, that’s what keeps guests (and customers) coming back.

Q1: What are the common types of scale questions used in surveys (e.g., on SurveyMars)?

A: The most widely used scale question types (all supported on SurveyMars, in line with platform rules) include:

1、Likert Scale: Measures agreement/disagreement (e.g., "Strongly Disagree → Disagree → Neutral → Agree → Strongly Agree") or satisfaction (e.g., "Very Dissatisfied → Dissatisfied → Neutral → Satisfied → Very Satisfied").

2、Star Rating Scale: Uses stars (1–5 or 1–10) to rate experiences (e.g., "Rate your hotel stay: 1 star = Very Poor, 5 stars = Excellent").

3、Semantic Differential Scale: Uses opposite adjectives to measure a concept (e.g., "Slow ↔ Fast," "Low Quality ↔ High Quality") with a 5–7 point scale in between.

4、Numeric Scale: Uses numbers to represent intensity (e.g., "On a scale of 1–10, how likely are you to recommend us? 1 = Not Likely, 10 = Extremely Likely").

Q2: How is a scale question different from a single-choice question?

A: The key difference lies in data type and purpose:

A single-choice question asks respondents to pick one option from unrelated or mutually exclusive choices (e.g., "What’s your favorite color? Red / Blue / Green")—it collects "categorical data" (labels, not numbers).

A scale question asks respondents to select a position on an ordered, continuous scale (e.g., "How satisfied are you? 1–5")—it collects "ordinal or interval data" (numbers that show order or intensity).

For example, "Which brand do you prefer?" (single-choice) vs. "How much do you prefer Brand A? 1 = Not at All, 5 = Very Much" (scale question).

Q3: When should I use a scale question instead of other (e.g., open-ended questions)?

A: Use a scale question when you need to:

1.Quantify subjective feedback: Turn feelings (e.g., "happy" or "frustrated") into numbers for easy analysis (e.g., "60% of respondents rated satisfaction as 4+ out of 5").

2.Compare results across groups: For example, "Do users under 30 rate our app higher than users over 40?"

3.Keep surveys efficient: Scale questions are faster to answer than open-ended questions (reducing respondent drop-off).

Avoid scale questions if you need detailed, qualitative reasons (e.g., "Why are you dissatisfied?")—pair scale questions with open-ended questions for both numbers and context.

Q4: Are there rules for designing effective scale questions (e.g., on SurveyMars)?

A: Yes—SurveyMars recommends following these rules to ensure reliable data:

1.Use an odd number of scale points (e.g., 5 or 7 points) to include a neutral middle option (avoids forcing respondents to choose a side).

2.Label all scale points clearly: Don’t just label the first and last options (e.g., for a 5-point scale, label 1 = "Very Dissatisfied," 2 = "Dissatisfied," 3 = "Neutral," 4 = "Satisfied," 5 = "Very Satisfied").

3.Keep the scale consistent: Use the same scale direction (e.g., "low → high") throughout your survey (e.g., don’t switch from "1 = Poor" to "1 = Excellent" mid-survey).

4.Avoid leading language: Phrase questions neutrally (e.g., "How easy was it to use the tool?" instead of "Wasn’t the tool easy to use?").

Q5: I added a "Neutral" option to my 5-point scale, but most respondents choose it—did I make a mistake? How to adjust on SurveyMars?

A: Overusing "Neutral" usually happens if the question is too broad or irrelevant (e.g., asking "How satisfied are you with our products?" when respondents only used one product). On SurveyMars, adjust by:

1.Narrowing the question focus (e.g., "How satisfied are you with our X product’s battery life?") to make "Neutral" a genuine choice, not a default.

2.If relevance is the issue, add a "Not Applicable (NA)" option (separate from the main scale, via the "Add Optional NA" toggle in SurveyMars) for respondents the question doesn’t apply to—this keeps "Neutral" for true indifference.