Market Metrix Announces Fourth Quarter 2005 Hospitality Index Results
Kimpton Hotels, Independence Air and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Take Top Industry Categories
SAN RAFAEL, CA, February 8, 2006. 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 2005. Kimpton Hotels, Independence Air and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively. Ritz Carlton was recognized for Best Hotel Restaurants; Four Seasons wins Best Room Service; and W Hotels voted Favorite Hotel Bar.
Kimpton Hotels and Independence Air have never won the top spot in their industries and, Independence Air will never do it again. Independence Air ceased operations in January 2006, only 18 months after launching its service as a low-cost carrier. Independence joins a long list of carriers that have failed since industry deregulation in 1978.
Overall satisfaction with hotels was mixed with more segments declining (Luxury -3.8; Upscale -.8; Midscale w/o F&B -1.9; Economy -.5 ) than improving (Upper Upscale +.6; Midscale w/ F&B +.9, Extended Stay +.7). Rental Cars showed improvement (+1.5) but Airlines edged slightly lower (-.3) for the quarter.
New questions evaluating hotel restaurants, room service and lounges were recently added to the Market Metrix Hospitality Index. Here are highlights from the survey results.
SS Restaurants. In the hotel restaurant category the top-scoring brand was The Ritz-Carlton. Ritz Carlton guests were wowed by their experiences saying, "The restaurants were absolutely wonderful," and "above and beyond my already high expectations."
SS Room Service. The hotel brands delivering the best room service (speed and quality) included Four Seasons Hotels, Intercontinental, and Loews Hotels respectively. Bellagio's room service was tops among casino hotels.
SS Bars. In the hotel bar category, people rave about the bars found in W Hotels. Customers described the W's XYZ Bars as a "glamorous cocktail lounge for an upscale crowd" whose popularity "squeezes people very close together so that meeting people is easy."
How does food and beverage service affect hotel guest loyalty?
SS Restaurants. The results showed that for some segments (e.g., economy) simply providing a restaurant (and not necessarily a good restaurant) can positively affect hotel loyalty. For these guests having an exceptional restaurant had no additional positive impact on hotel loyalty. For other segments (e.g., Midscale, Extended Stay) hotel guest loyalty was affected with a quality restaurant that exceeded customers' expectations.
SS Room Service. For economy and extended stay guests offering room service is important. These guests, however, did not value exceptional room service with increased loyalty. Conversely, a high quality in-room dining experience does influence the loyalty behavior of guests staying at Midscale and Upscale Casino.
SS Bars. The importance of the bar is more significant for Luxury and Upscale Casinos than for the other industry segments. However, a better-quality hotel bar does affect the loyalty behavior of Midscale and Extended Stay guests.
MMHI Top-Hospitality Rankings Q4 2005
Hotel - Overall
Kimpton Hotels
Airline
Independence Air
Car Rental
Enterprise
Luxury Hotels
Four Seasons
Upper Upscale
Kimpton Hotels
Upscale Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Midscale w/ F&B
Holiday Inn Select
Midscale w/o F&B
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Economy Hotels
Microtel Inns & Suites
Extended-Stay Hotels
Homewood Suites
Vacation Clubs
Hilton Grand Vacation
Upscale Casino
Bellagio
Casino
Borgata Casino
Hotel Reservations Website - Hotel Brand
Walt Disney World Resorts
Hotel Reservations Website - Travel
Hotwire.com
(w/o F&B = without food & beverage)
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.
About Market Metrix
Market Metrix, LLC was founded in 1996 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. For more information, log onto www.marketmetrix.com or call 1-800-239-7515.
Contact:
Mike Pharis
Market Metrix
tel 415-721-1300
fax 415-721-1314
http://www.marketmetrix.com
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
