Market Metrix Announces Fourth Quarter 2004 Hospitality Index Results
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 fourth quarter of 2004. Wingate Inns, Midwest Airlines and Enterprise
Rent-A-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry
customer satisfaction, respectively. For the first time, a mid-scale
(without food and beverage) hotel company, Wingate Inns, has placed first
in the hotel category. Among airlines, for the second consecutive quarter,
Midwest Airlines is in the top spot while Enterprise continues to dominate
in the rental car category.
Highlights from Q4 2004 MMHI Data
Wingate Inns, an all-new construction hotel chain, has dazzled its guests
and created a devoted following. According to guests Wingate Inns provides
“amenities comparable to a 5-star hotel,” “awesome telecommunications,”
“oversized rooms” and “a free breakfast that is out of this world!” With
employees that “smile, call you by name, and ask if there is anything you
need,” they are delivering “superior customer service unmatched in the
hospitality industry.”
Among hotels, the highest customer satisfaction ratings went to Wingate
Inns (91.2), Walt Disney World Resorts (90.5) and Drury Inns (90.4).
Overall, Luxury Hotels received the highest ratings (87) with Extended
Stay guests reporting the second highest levels (86.4). W Hotels won the
Luxury category for the second time and Walt Disney World Resorts
continues to dominate the Upper Upscale segment.
Analysis of results revealed a continued increase in bookings on hotel
sites and a boost in loyalty program membership. These findings suggest
that customers are becoming more loyal and doing less shopping around.
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—Membership in hotel loyalty programs has been steadily climbing. Since
the third quarter of 2002, 34 percent more guests report being members of
hotel frequent sleeper programs.
—Increasing loyalty program membership appears to have made a
substantial impact on guest loyalty in non-casino hotels. The percentage
of guests reporting that they are very likely to return has increased 6
percentage points since the third quarter of 2002.
—Hotels have succeeded in winning bookings away from such leading
websites as Expedia and Orbitz. Increasing their share of web bookings by
nearly 30% in the last five quarters, Hotel websites now capture 15% of
all Internet bookings. The top 3 non-casino hotel websites (in terms of
capturing reservations of their own guests) include: Staybridge,
Candlewood and Extended StayAmerica.
MMHI Top-Hospitality Rankings Q4 2004
Hotel
Wingate Inns
Airline
Midwest Airlines
Car Rental
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Luxury
W Hotelsv
Upper Upscale
Walt Disney World Resorts
Upscale
SpringHill Suites
Midscale w/ F&B
Four Points
Midscale w/o F&B
Wingate Inns
Economy
Jameson Inns
Extended Stay
Staybridge
Casino
Isle of Capri
Upscale Casino
Bellagio
Hotel Reservations Website—Hotel Brand
WyndhamHotelv
Reservations Website—Travel
Yahoo! Travel
(w/o F&B = without food & beverage)
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