Hotels, Airlines at Opposite Ends of Satisfaction Scale: Hotels Highest, Airlines Lowest in 4 Years

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 30 /PRNewswire/ — Market Metrix, LLC, the leading provider of customer and employee feedback and performance tools for the hospitality industry, today announced results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index(TM) (MMHI) for the first quarter of 2007. While hotel guest satisfaction climbed to near record levels, airline passenger satisfaction tumbled to its lowest level in years. Rental car scores were stable.

Overall, Walt Disney World Resorts, JetBlue Airways and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively.

Satisfaction for the hotel industry reached its highest level in 3 years. According to Dr. Jonathan Barsky, who directs research activities at Market Metrix, “Strong RevPar growth for the first three months of 2007 and investments in staffing, services and amenities, made a positive impact on the guest experience in all hotel segments except Luxury, where satisfaction slumped to its lowest level in years.” Upscale hotels saw the biggest improvement with Crowne Plaza up nearly 5 points compared to the last quarter of 2006.

Airline passenger satisfaction dropped to its lowest level in 4 years with JetBlue Airways and Midwest Airlines showing the biggest declines. Scores for Loyalty Emotions(TM) (e.g., feeling welcome) among airline passengers also reached near-record lows. Loyalty Emotions(TM) evaluate critical elements of a passenger’s emotional experience and are fundamental components of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

According to Dr. Barsky, “The drop in passenger satisfaction reveals unprecedented angst among passengers which has been caused, in part, by disenchanted employees, increasing fuel costs, bankruptcy, and new record levels of lost, delayed, and damaged luggage.”

         Market Metrix Hospitality Index 2007 Winners (1st Quarter YTD)    WINNER                                    SEGMENT    Hotels   Ritz-Carlton                         88.3 Luxury   Walt Disney World Resorts            89.9 Upper Upscale   Homewood Suites                      88.7 Upscale   Holiday Inn Select                   81.5 Midscale w/F&B   Hampton Inns & Suites                85.7 Midscale w/o F&B   Microtel Inns & Suites               83.5 Economy    Casinos   Bellagio                             91.5 Upscale Casino   Rio                                  87.0 Casino    Web Sites   W Hotels                             86.0 Hotel Brand Web Site   Hotwire.com                          76.8 Hotel Travel Web Site    Airlines   JetBlue                              85.9 AIRLINE    Car Rentals   Enterprise                           84.1 CAR RENTAL    Timeshare Accommodations   Disney Vacation Club                 91.1 Timeshare Accommodations      About MMHI  

Based on 35,000 customer interviews conducted each quarter, the Market Metrix Hospitality Index(TM) is the largest and most in-depth measure of hospitality company performance available today. These benchmarks, delivered through Customer Metrix(TM), enable Market Metrix clients to compare their results to local competitors by zip code, city, state, region, country, and brand. The MMHI is also available by subscription.

About Market Metrix

With over 100 clients in 70 countries, Market Metrix has helped hospitality companies turn feedback into performance since 1996. Its flagship Customer Metrix(TM) and Employee Metrix(TM) suites provide multi-channel survey, analysis and service improvement tools and benchmarking data for the hospitality industry.

   http://www.marketmetrix.com/    Contact Mike Pharis   1-800-239-7515  

Market Metrix, LLC

CONTACT: Mike Pharis of Market Metrix, LLC, 1-800-239-7515

Web site: http://www.marketmetrix.com/