We find that most guests are happy to leave you feedback. They just need a reminder to do so. Sending an email a few days after checkout is a reliable way to prompt them. But beyond improving your hotel survey and collecting as many guest emails as possible, you need to think carefully about your post-stay emails. Understanding your performance metrics tells you exactly where your emails are falling short — and what to fix.

Delivery rates

Delivery rate is the percentage of emails you send that actually reach your guest. If yours are lower than expected, work on verifying email addresses at the front desk or check-in kiosk before guests leave.

Open rates

According to the 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report, hotels sending to targeted lists of fewer than 5,000 contacts achieve a 42.78% open rate — compared to open rates above 29% for broader one-time sends. If your open rates fall below that range, start with your subject line. It’s your best opportunity to remind guests of their stay. Keep it under 40 characters, keep it simple, and avoid promotional language — subject lines that read like marketing tend to suppress opens.

Send timing matters too, though not as much as you might expect. Industry standard is 2–3 days post-checkout, but the data doesn’t show a significant difference in open rates based on timing alone. What it does affect is feedback quality: the sooner you send, the fresher the memory. If you have flexibility, err on the side of earlier.

Click rates

Click rate measures how many people who opened your email then clicked your survey link, expressed as a percentage of total sends. Per the 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report, newsletter campaigns — the top-performing one-time campaign type — achieve a 2.15% click-through rate globally. How well you do here comes down to how the email invitation is put together.

Two components matter most:

Look and feel: If you’re using an image header, make sure it was designed for that space — not resized from something else. A stretched or pixelated header undermines the impression of a property where no detail goes unnoticed.

Email body: Keep it short, but be direct about what you’re asking for. Introduce yourself, explain that the feedback helps improve the guest experience, give an honest estimate of how long the survey takes, and include a clear call-to-action button or link. Save other messages for other emails. If the goal is feedback, everything in the email should point toward that survey link.

Survey completion rates

Once your emails are in good shape on delivery, opens, and clicks, you’re set up well — but guests still have to finish the survey. According to the 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report, industry survey completion rates average under 5%, with global performance ranging from 3.64% (North America) to 4.41% (APAC). If you’re landing in that range, you’re tracking with the industry. If not, the survey itself is likely the issue — length is the biggest friction point.

The best approach is to keep testing. Adjust your survey and emails, track the results, and iterate. The more responses you collect, the better your picture of the actual guest experience.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good open rate for hotel post-stay survey emails?

According to the 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report, hotels sending to targeted lists of fewer than 5,000 contacts achieve open rates of 42.78%, while broader one-time sends hold above 29%. If you’re consistently below that lower threshold, your subject line is usually the first place to look. Avoid promotional language — guests who recently stayed are more likely to open an email that feels personal, not like a marketing message.

When should hotels send post-stay survey emails?

The industry standard is 2–3 days after checkout. Timing has less impact on open rates than most people expect, but it does affect feedback quality. Send too late and guests’ memories fade. If you have flexibility in your setup, earlier is generally better for the accuracy of the responses you collect.

How do I get more guests to complete my hotel survey?

Start with the email that drives them there: short body copy, a clear ask, an honest time estimate, and a single call-to-action. On the survey side, length is the biggest friction point — the fewer questions you ask, the higher your completion rate. Test both the email and the survey separately so you know which variable you’re actually moving.

What’s causing my low hotel survey delivery rates?

Low delivery rates almost always trace back to bad email addresses. The fix happens at the property level: verify email addresses at check-in or check-out, whether that’s through your front desk staff or a kiosk. The cleaner your list, the more of your post-stay emails actually land.

For current hospitality benchmarks on email performance, reputation, and guest feedback, download the 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report. And if you’re looking to put these benchmarks to work, Revinate Marketing gives hotel teams the tools to build, segment, and send post-stay campaigns that actually get opened.