Market Metrix, LLC, the
leading provider of market research services for the hospitality industry,
today announced results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) for
the second quarter of 2004. Four Seasons, Jet Blue Airways and Enterprise
Rent-A-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry
customer satisfaction, respectively. Four Seasons returns as the top rated
hotel brand in the country after falling in the rankings for the two
previous quarters. Jet Blue and Enterprise have both won seven out of the
last eight quarters in their industry categories. First time winners
include Executive Inn Hotels in the “Midscale with Food & Beverage
Services” category and AmericInn in the “Economy” category. “Leakage” Traces Customers’ Tracks

Market Metrix developed the “brand leakage” concept to quantify and
evaluate the brand switching habits of hotel customers. The Company has
integrated this important new measure into its quarterly MMHI report,
enabling subscribers to track customers’ travel activity over time, i.e.,
if they remain loyal, switch to another brand, or try another brand and
then switch back.
“Knowing to which brands customers actually switch can offer valuable
insight into keeping them from leaving in the first place,” said Jonathan
Barsky, Ph.D., Market Metrix co-founder and partner and University of San
Francisco marketing professor. For example, Best Western loses most of its
defectors (9.2%) to Comfort Inn. Hilton loses its biggest slice (10%) to
Marriott and Hampton gives up 8.3% of its switchers to Best Western hotels.

“Armed with this information, brands can create marketing strategies to
re-capture lost customers, promotions to woo back defectors, and products
and services to specifically address competitor offerings,” said Barsky.
“Knowing the sequence of brand choices that customers make can offer
insight into where to build hotels, what brands to include in a portfolio,
and what business affiliations would exploit these travel patterns.”

  MMHI Top-Hospitality Rankings Q2 2004

  Hotel
  Four Seasons Hotels

  Airline
  JetBlue Airways

  Car Rental
  Enterprise Rent-A-Car

  Luxury Hotels
  Four Seasons Hotels

  Upper Upscale Hotels
  Walt Disney World Resorts

  Upscale
  SpringHill Suites

  Midscale w/ Food&Beverage Services
  Executive Inn Hotels

  Midscale w/out Food&Beverage Services
  Drury Inns

  Economy Hotels
  AmericInn

  Extended-Stay Hotels
  Homewood Suites

  Casino
  Rio

  Upscale Casino
  Bellagio

  Hotel Reservations Website - Hotel Brand
  Residence Inn By Marriott

  Hotel Reservations Website - Travel
  Hotwire.com
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