While more than one-half of all hotel guests rate their overnight stay at a chain hotel high in customer satisfaction, only an outstanding performance by the hotel will create the strong loyalty necessary to bring those guests back again.

�There is also a financial return to those hotels that strive not just to satisfy guests, but that also focus on achieving the highest levels of guest satisfaction,� said Curt Carlson, director, hotel practice at J.D. Power and Associates.

The primary drivers of overall customer satisfaction in this study are: satisfaction with the guest room, pre-arrival/arrival (reservations/check-in) and departure (accuracy of the bill, check-out), followed by guest services, and food and beverage. This is true for all segments included in the study: Economy/Budget, Mid-Price Limited Service, Mid-Price Full Service, All Suites and Upscale.

Economy/Budget

Fairfield Inn received the top ranking for �Highest Guest Satisfaction Among Economy/Budget Hotel Chains.� Fairfield Inn performed especially well in the areas of reservations/check-in and guest services. In addition to Fairfield Inn, above-average hotel chains in this segment in order of performance include Microtel Inn and Suites, Baymont Inn and Suites, Ramada Limited and Motel 6 (see chart data below).

The Economy/Budget segment accounts for the second-largest number of guest stays (25 percent), has the lowest average room rate at $69 per night and provides the fewest guest services or amenities. Hotels in this segment have no on-premise restaurant.

Mid-Price Hotel Chains with Limited Service

Hampton Inn received the top ranking for �Highest Guest Satisfaction Among Mid-Price Hotel Chains with Limited Service.� Hampton Inn performed well in nearly all aspects of the guest experience, especially in the areas of reservations/check-in, guest room, guest services and departure. In addition to Hampton Inn, Country Inns and Suites performed above the segment average (see chart data below).

Hotel chains in this segment have room rates that average $77 per night, have no on-premise restaurants and provide only limited guest services.

Mid-Price Hotel Chains with Full Service

Courtyard by Marriott received the award for �Highest Guest Satisfaction Among Mid-Price Hotel Chains with Full Service.� Courtyard by Marriott�s top ranking in this segment is attributed to its strong performance in reservations/check-in, guest room, guest services and departure. Holiday Inn is the other above-average chain in this segment (see chart data below).

The segment accounts for the largest number of guest stays (31 percent) and has an average room rate of $86 per night. These chains are characterized by an on-property, full-service restaurant and more complete guest services and facilities such as meeting rooms.

All-Suite

Embassy Suites Hotels has been awarded the top ranking for �Highest Guest Satisfaction Among All-Suite Hotel Chains.� Embassy Suites Hotels ranked high in all aspects of the guest experience. In addition to Embassy Suites Hotels, only Residence Inn scored at or above the segment average (see chart data below).

Suite chains are characterized by offering guests a sitting room, bedroom, refrigerator and often include a full breakfast in the room rate. This segment has an average room rate of $103 per night.

Upscale

Omni Hotels ranked �Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upscale Hotel Chains.� Omni Hotels provide especially high satisfaction in the areas of guest room, food and beverage, and guest services. In addition to Omni Hotels, above-average hotel chains in this segment in order of performance include Marriott and Hyatt, with Crowne Plaza and Westin in a tie for fourth (see chart data below).

Upscale chains have full-service restaurants, multiple meeting facilities and a complete range of guest services. These chains have an average room rate of $121 per night.

Across all segments, 55 percent of guests in the study sample stayed for leisure, the average length of stay was 2.6 nights and the average household income of guests was $59,500.

J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study is based on a national sample of more than 10,000 business and leisure hotel guests, who each evaluated one of 52 hotels comprising five market segments. The luxury hotel segment was not ranked in this study.

With headquarters in Agoura Hills, J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm�s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual responses from millions of consumers annually.

This news release is provided for editorial use only. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.