The Economic Tailspin Flattens Hotel Satisfaction in Q4 with Cuts in Staff and Services
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The Economic Tailspin Flattens Hotel Satisfaction in Q4 with Cuts in Staff and Services
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Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Figures / Studies
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-02-25
-- Market Metrix Announces Fourth Quarter YTD 2008 Hospitality Index Results --
Despite the budget cutbacks, in 2008 Customer Satisfaction was up for hotels (+0.9) and airlines (+1.5) but down for car rental companies (-0.9) compared to 2007. Among hotels, the luxury segment showed the biggest improvement (+1.4), with Le Meridian, Loews and The Ritz-Carlton posting the biggest year over year gains. Casinos (-0.7) and Timeshares (-0.2) were the only segments showing a decline in satisfaction compared to 2007. The Sahara Hotel and Casino (-6.3), Binion's Horseshoe (-6.1) and Trendwest Resorts (-4.2) posted the biggest annual declines within these segments.
Comparing performance across the hospitality industry
Although the hotel industry reached near-record highs in guest satisfaction in 2008, scores were flat in Q4 as the severity of the economic downturn forced significant reductions in staff and services. In the grueling fourth quarter hotel guests reported lower product scores but gave higher marks for “Pampered”, “Entertained” and “Welcome” indicating that while hotels are cutting back, they are also working hard to please guests. And with lower rates taking on greater urgency for most guests, loyalty programs and green initiatives played less of a role in hotel selection compared to the previous quarter.
Car Rental satisfaction scores were down for the year. This industry continues to face a difficult operating environment with fewer people renting cars and rising costs (e.g. higher vehicle maintenance and repair costs). Alamo (+2.5) and Thrifty (+1.8) showed the biggest annual improvements in customer satisfaction scores despite the industry’s downward slide. Enterprise continues their industry dominance with overall satisfaction and loyalty scores well above competitors, although their winning margin was smaller this year with Alamo making a big jump to finish in second place for 2008.
Although airlines continue to frustrate customers, their scores did improve slightly over last year. And there is a new winner - Virgin Atlantic. For the first time this airline scored highest among 23 airlines in 2008. Passengers love the airline’s “mood lighting”, “plugging in laptops at your seat” and “the movies… they’ve got an awesome in-flight entertainment system!” The most improved airline was Lufthansa (+5.7) boosting its ranking from 7th place in 2007 to second place in 2008.
Top Scoring Hotel Brands
The top hotel score among all segments for 2008 went to Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts - a portfolio of hotels, resorts and serviced suites throughout Asia and North America. Guests rave about the staff’s “Asian hospitality”, “incredible response time” and “sumptuous amenities” in the guestrooms. Riu Hotels won the Upper upscale category, Sandals was the highest scoring upscale hotel and South Point Hotel, a new Mediterranean themed Las Vegas property, led the casino segment in customer satisfaction for 2008. Kimpton and Hotwire delivered the best online reservation experiences to their customers.
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