SAN RAFAEL, CA–(Marketwire – August 25, 2010) –  With demand leading the recovery, especially in the high end of the market, real growth is on the way. But despite rising occupancies, cautious hoteliers are keeping rates down; providing guests with exceptional values. Rising guest perceptions of value (+0.5 to 83.6) helped improve satisfaction scores among Casinos (+0.7 to 82.8), Upscale Casinos (+0.6 to 84.5), Upscale hotels (+0.2 to 85.4) and Luxury hotels (+0.1 to 85.8). Customers were also happier with their airline (+0.1 to 75.8) and car rental experiences (+0.2 to 79.4) in the second quarter of 2010. Sandals Hotels, Jet Blue, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline, and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively, for the second quarter.

Hotels and Casinos

Casinos (+0.7 to 82.8) and Upscale Casinos (+0.6 to 84.5) showed the biggest gains. Within the casino segment South Point Hotel Casino took top honors (89.2). Among Upscale Casinos, The Palazzo received the highest customer satisfaction score (90.0). Guests rave about the luxurious, Italian themed Palazzo saying that “it’s a great hotel if you want the best” and “I can’t believe they have a Lamborghini Dealership in the hotel!” Segments posting declines in customer satisfaction include Midscale w/ F&B (-2.3 to 81.4), Midscale w/o F&B (-2.0 to 83.3), Timeshare Accommodations (-0.4 to 86.2), Upper Upscale (-0.4 to 85.3), and Economy (-0.2 to 78.7).

The Casino segments showed significant improvement. Scores for “Value for price” and “Value of promotions” jumped significantly among Casino and Upscale Casinos. Among Upscale Casino properties, Meeting and Event scores were up sharply. Within the Casino Segment guests gave higher evaluations for “Employee Can-do attitude” and (feeling) “Important.” Among all casinos the properties posting the biggest gains were Isle of Capri (+2.3 to 80.3), Caesars Palace (+2.2 to 84.9) and Mandalay Bay (+1.9 to 82.3). Casinos posting the biggest declines in customer satisfaction included Orleans (-2.5 to 89.1), Foxwoods (-2.1 to 85.2) and Rio (-1.6 to 83.5).

With more people traveling, the climate throughout the hotel industry is improving; guests report feeling more “Entertained,” “Elegant” and “Excited” compared to last quarter. More leisure and younger guests are traveling, and satisfaction with meetings and events increased (+0.2 to 82.7), for the period April – June 2010. More people are choosing hotels based on reviews they read online prior to booking and fewer guests say that “location” is their primary reason for selecting a property.

Airlines and Car Rental

After a miserable first quarter (-3.0 to 75.7), passenger satisfaction with airlines recovered slightly (+0.1 to 75.8) in the second quarter. Alaska Airlines posted the biggest gain in passenger satisfaction (+0.8 to 78.0) and continues to receive accolades for its flexible loyalty program. Among all airlines, Frontier Airlines posted the biggest decline (-0.9 to 79.3) in passenger satisfaction for the period. The airline industry faces new challenges to improve passenger satisfaction: airlines are beginning to charge higher fares (including new fees for baggage, upgrades, etc), flights are becoming more crowded, and the increasing number of carry-ons will likely lead to cabin congestion and delays.

Consumer satisfaction with rental cars improved slightly in the second quarter (+0.2 to 79.4). Extending their winning streak, Enterprise posted the highest satisfaction score (+0.4 to 82.0), although National (+0.6 to 81.5) was close behind in second place. Dollar posed the biggest decline (-0.9 to 77.6) dropping the brand to seventh in the industry ranking. The rental car industry is recovering with improving revenue trends, incremental cost savings and declining per-unit fleet costs.

About MMHI
Based on 35,000 customer interviews conducted each quarter, the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) is the largest and most in-depth measure of hospitality company performance available today.Our annual MMHI Awards are coveted by lodging and travel enterprises around the world. These benchmarks, delivered through our flagship product Customer Metrix™, enable Market Metrix clients to compare their results to competitors by STAR segment, AAA classification, Brand, SMSA, industry averages, performers in the top 10% and other classifications. The MMHI is also available by subscription.

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