BTN U.S. Hotel Chain Survey, 2007: SpringHill Jumps Atop Combined Midprice Rankings(2)

Courtyard by Marriott's three-year reign at the top of the increasingly diverse midprice category ended this year as its sister brand, SpringHill by Marriott, edged past it in the U.S. Hotel Chain survey.

The evolving SpringHill brand made the leap to the top after a fifth-place finish in its tier last year, receiving high marks for service, amenities and value. Courtyard was second, followed closely by Hilton Garden Inn and last year's winner in the midprice without food and beverage category, Country Inns & Suites. Hampton rounded out the top five.

Although the hotel industry continues to distinguish between the midprice with and without food and beverage tiers, BTN this year merged them because the lines between the two are blurring. Midprice hotels without a full restaurant are enhancing their food offerings while the idea of a dedicated in-house restaurant is falling out of favor with many hoteliers, said Sean Hennessey, president of New York-based Lodging Investment Advisors.

"That model has faded," Hennessey said. "It will continue to be around, because people will want a minimum level of food service, but for a lot of travelers, it's not the worst inconvenience if they have to go to the T.G.I. Friday's around the corner."

As a further indication, SpringHill garnered the top score in food quality despite being classified in the without F&B category last year, and Country Inns & Suites' food quality also scored well. Although SpringHill's breakfast remains continental in nature, it was upgraded to provide seasonally appropriate food and attendants to help guests, said Marsha Scarbrough, Marriott's vice president of brand strategy. Choice Hotels' Comfort Suites, which increased its score in every criterion from last year, also rolled out a hot breakfast, said Kimberly Shells, the brand's senior director of strategy.

"Expectations have really gone up in terms of what a complimentary continental breakfast means," said Rita Santelli, senior director of brand strategy for Choice Hotels' Comfort Inn. "When we rolled out a new breakfast—waffles, fresh fruit and cereal, toast and muffins—our guest satisfaction went up two percentage points, which represents more than 300,000 guests."

Performance-wise, the tiers remain distinct, with midprice with F&B showing daily rate and revenue per available room growth a little softer than midprice without F&B. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated 2006 annual average daily rate growth of 8.4 percent and RevPAR growth of 10 percent for midprice without F&B hotels and rate growth of 6 percent and RevPAR growth of 8.3 percent for hotels with F&B.

Several brands have ambitious development plans, including the seven-year-old SpringHill brand, now in the course of a major repositioning, Scarbrough said. As the brand grows, it will incorporate spa-like bathrooms and multifunctional lobbies with Internet connections and social areas and better use of light, she said. "Our growth has been tremendous, with 155 hotels for us and 110 in the pipeline," she said. "It's our next power brand."

Courtyard scored highest in arranging group travel and was part of a three-way tie with Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton for arranging individual travel. Bates said the brand especially benefited from Marriott's new bedding program, and Courtyard will be introducing a new room décor package this year.

Hampton, part of Hilton Hotels Corp., also scored high on its price-value relationship. The brand, with more than 1,400 hotels, is adding hot breakfasts and new bedding and bath amenities, said Judy Christa-Cathey, vice president of brand marketing for Hampton Hotels.

"Our breakfast and Internet are built into the cost. Corporations are looking at providing a quality stay and maximizing value, and that's why we yield some of the most-traveled premiums," she said.

Country Inns & Suites, part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, had the highest-rated commission payment system and also received high marks for its staff and overall value. Steven Mogck, Carlson's executive vice president of select service hotels, said one of the brand's most recent initiatives has been to develop a method to receive immediate feedback from guests. "It allows us to adjust things quickly and turn lemons into lemonade," Mogck said. "We've seen some wonderful results."

Travelodge's Turnaround

In the economy tier—this year incorporating both the economy and budget tiers of years past—Wyndham Worldwide brands dominated. Its Travelodge brand, which was at the bottom of the economy tier in the 2006 survey, surged to the top slot this year, boosted by high scores in arranging individual travel, appearance and overall value. Wyndham's Ramada Limited brand was second with high scores for staff and its commission payment system, followed by Wyndham's Days Inn, rated best for corporate rate programs.

Last year's economy tier winner, Red Roof Inn, fell to fifth place, and 2006 budget winner Microtel Inns did not show enough respondent usage to be included.

Travelodge has focused on breakfast and high-speed Internet access and was the first in the tier to mandate in-room safes in every property, said Ken Greene, president of Days Inn and group president of Travelodge and Howard Johnson. Ramada has focused on bed and bath improvements, and Mark Young, senior vice president for the Ramada brand, said its high staff rating could be attributed to improved training for franchisees and sharing best practices among managers.

While the economy level has been the weakest performer industrywide for a number of years, according to LIA's Hennessey, Travelodge is a good example of breathing new life into the tier, Greene said. The brand jettisoned more than 120 hotels it deemed of poor quality, representing about one-third of domestic properties, and is replacing them with higher-quality properties. Similarly, Howard Johnson did so with about 40 percent of its system, he said.

"We've brought the system up over the last three years, and we're just now starting to see the impact," Greene said. "There's been double-digit RevPAR growth and significant reservation revenue growth."

Ramada has been on the same path for several years, having pared to about 600 hotels from about 1,000 hotels in 2000, including reducing Ramada Limited properties from about 350 to 250, Young said.

Hennessey said the development picture for economy properties could be a win in the long run for brands looking to secure more corporate travel.

"It tended to be more older and tired as a group, but we're starting to see some more growth in the pipeline," Hennessey said. "It will keep room rate growth down because of supply but also will provide a better product for corporate travelers. The quality might be as such that they might get a stronger look from corporations."