Hotel Online  Special Report


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Market Metrix Third Quarter 2003
Hospitality Index Results; 
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First-Ever Measure of Satisfaction With Online Hotel
Reservations Places Radisson and Yahoo! Travel
on Top
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--Four Seasons and JetBlue Win For Fourth Time in Five Quarters --

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. � Nov. 12, 2003 -- 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 third quarter of this year.  Four Seasons Hotels, JetBlue Airways and Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively.  JetBlue and Enterprise have both won four out of the last five quarters. 

In addition, the MMHI is reporting the first satisfaction rankings of websites offering online hotel reservations.  Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Yahoo! Travel placed number one in customer satisfaction with the reservation-making process for the hotel brand and travel website categories, respectively.  "As the Internet matures, our travelers expect much more from their online experiences," said Yen Lee, general manager of Yahoo! Travel. "Yahoo! Travel has always been committed to providing the most comprehensive choices and easy-to-use site for people to research and book their travel online.  The MMHI award validates our work and inspires us to continue providing the highest quality of service to our customers."

According to Jonathan Barsky, Ph.D., Market Metrix co-founder and partner and University of San Francisco marketing professor, �Travelers are increasingly using the Internet to book hotel reservations, making the online interface an important part of the guest�s overall experience with that hotel.  The quality of the experience with the website can influence customers� decision making, ultimately reinforcing loyalty or losing customers for the brand.  The information in MMHI will help hotel and travel website executives determine if their online hotel reservation interface is effective.� 

"Today's online shopper wants options and choices when making travel arrangements, but in a way that is easy and intuitive for the customer," said Gino Giovannelli, senior director of e-business for Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, parent company of Radisson Hotels & Resorts. "Our customers are the best judge of how well we are satisfying their changing needs, and tools like the MMHI help us meet their changing expectations."

Interestingly, consumers are using hotel brand websites more often than the popular travel websites like Orbitz or Expedia, with 34 percent of consumers using the hotel site directly.  Expedia.com was the most popular travel website, with 15 percent of respondents choosing it for online hotel booking. 
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MMHI Top-Ranked Hospitality
Companies for Q3 2003

Hotel
Four Seasons Hotels

Airline
JetBlue Airways

Car Rental
Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Luxury Hotels
Four Seasons Hotels

Upscale Hotels
Walt Disney World Resorts

Upper Mid-Price Hotels
Wingate Inn

Mid-Price Hotels
Drury Inns

Economy Hotels
Wellesley Inn and Suites

Extended-Stay Hotels
Candlewood

Casino
Harrahs

Upscale Casino
Bellagio

Hotel Reservations Website � Hotel Brand
Radisson

Hotel Reservations Website � Travel
Yahoo! Travel

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About MMHI

The Market Metrix Hospitality Index is a quarterly report of customer satisfaction with hotel, airline and car rental companies based on 35,000 in-depth consumer interviews. The MMHI ranks top hospitality brands by industry and, for hotels, by categories such as luxury, mid-price and economy. Detailed, in-depth and customized reports are available for subscribers. No other customer satisfaction index offers MMHI�s reporting frequency, volume of customer interviews, cross-industry results or innovative satisfaction measures. 

The MMHI contains 135 hotel brands, 25 airlines and 11 car rental companies. The wealth of data is presented in an easy-to-use format, enabling subscribers to quickly identify trends and find best practices. Subscribers can measure their company�s stand-alone performance and dynamically benchmark their ratings against those of self-selected competitors and highly ranked companies within and across the other hospitality industries. 

In addition to standard measures of customer satisfaction, MMHI has pioneered several proprietary measures. Hospitality companies that provide Loyalty Emotions -- select emotional experiences for customers, such as �pampered,� �relaxed� or �hip/cool,� depending on category and niche -- obtain higher rates and can increase prices with fewer defections. Loyalty Program Strength measures the relative success of a company�s loyalty program compared to other programs in the industry. The Secure Customer measures a customer�s intent to return and likelihood of recommending the hospitality company, important indicators of satisfaction. 

About Market Metrix

Market Metrix, LLC was founded in 1996 by partners Jonathan Barsky, Ph.D., and Lenny Nash to provide the hospitality industry with better customer and employee satisfaction measurement programs and management tools. In addition to MMHI, Market Metrix provides clients with award-winning survey systems and strategic services. Market Metrix also operates the Consumer Research Center, which provides focus group facilities, data entry services and a state-of-the-art specialty call center. Based in San Rafael, Calif., Market Metrix is partner-owned and has 50 employees. For more information, log onto www.marketmetrix.com or call 1-800-239-7515.

Contact:
Sarah Conner
Market Metrix
tel 415-721-1300
fax 415-721-1314
[email protected]
http://www.marketmetrix.com
Also See: Market Metrix Second Quarter 2003 Hospitality Index Results -- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Improves Satisfaction Score to Take Top Hotel Prize / Aug 2003
Market Metrix Announces First Quarter 2003 Hospitality Index Results; Top Rankings go to Homewood Suites, JetBlue Airways and Enterprise Rent-A-Car / May 2003


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