2008 U.S. Hotel Chain Survey Methodology

Business Travel News' U.S. Hotel Chain Survey annually measures corporate travel buyer opinions of the lodging brands they use. Business Travel News e-mailed 7,391 corporate readers responsible for hotel buying decisions, asking them to rate hotels with which they did business in the past year in six hotel segments: deluxe, upscale, midprice, budget/economy, and upscale and midprice extended stay. Equation Research tabulated 539 responses.

Buyers rated hotels in each segment on six to 13 attributes, including quality of food, physical appearance, corporate rate programs, quality of facilities and overall price-value relationship. Ratings are presented on a numerical scale from one to five, with the number highlighted indicating the highest score for each attribute.

Business Travel News reported results only for chains that achieved a significant percentage of usage.