Hotels Improved As Hosts; Airlines Declined In Annual Travelers Study

Market Metrix, LLC, the leading provider of customer and employee feedback and performance tools for the hospitality industry, today announced annual results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) for 2007. Kimpton Hotels, Sun Country Airlines and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively.

Overall, customer satisfaction with hotels finished the year (2007) with a slight increase (+.4) over the previous year (2006). With all barometers increasing -- satisfaction, average daily rates and occupancy -- 2007 was a good year.

For 2007, Kimpton Hotels posted the highest score (90.6) among all hotels in the industry. Their unique collection of boutique hotels not only topped their own upscale brand segment but also outscored legendary hotel chains such as The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Peninsula Hotels. How is this possible? Kimpton customers say that you can't help but "feel the Kimpton style" with "incredibly comfortable bedding" and employees that have a "super attitude and really go out of their way to help you!" The company is in the midst of an aggressive period of growth and expansion from entering new markets to developing concentrations of hotels in existing hubs.

Among most airlines, 2007 was a bad year for the customer. In fact, customer satisfaction with airlines for 2007 (76) fell to the lowest recorded levels since the industry was rocked by 9/11. As airlines continue to struggle with flight delays, labor contracts and higher fuel prices, consumers feel they are getting less for their money. Sun Country, one of the few bright spots, earned the highest score in customer satisfaction among all airlines in 2007. Sun Country Airlines is a low cost, low fare carrier based in St. Paul, MN, that flies to popular business and leisure destinations such as New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as seasonally to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Satisfaction among car rental companies was up slightly for the year (+.75) despite rising fuel prices and decreased availability of new rental vehicles. More refined customer and corporate information management and easy-to-use internet booking applications are two of the ways that technology is helping car rental companies deliver leading-edge service to their most valued customers. Enterprise continues their industry dominance with overall satisfaction and loyalty scores well above their competitors. The brands showing the biggest improvements in 2007 were Advantage (+2.9 to 79) and Payless (+2.0 to 77.1), while Alamo (-1.8 to 78.2) and Hertz (-0.7 to 79.7) reported the biggest declines.

Market Metrix Hospitality Index 2007 Annual Winners

About MMHI

Based on 35,000 customer interviews conducted each quarter, the Market Metrix Hospitality Index is the largest and most in-depth measure of hospitality company performance available today.

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