Traveler Satisfaction up Despite Rising Occupancy, Rates
Travelers increasingly are satisfied with hotel performance despite higher overall costs and rising occupancy rates, according to a J.D. Power & Associates survey released late last month of 37,471 respondents who stayed in a hotel at least once between December 2004 and May 2005. Compared with figures from 2004, all segments examined in the survey went up in satisfaction based on the following six criteria: checkin/checkout, guest room, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and costs and fees.
Hilton Hotels Corp.'s brands snagged the top spot in three of the six hotel segments with its midprice full-service Hilton Garden Inn, midprice limited service Hampton Inn & Suites, and its extended stay offering, Homewood Suites by Hilton. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Omni Hotels and Microtel Inn & Suites round out the winners of the other three hotel tiers noted in the survey, in the luxury, upscale and budget categories, respectively. Despite the growth of new tech-heavy amenities, the study said most travelers still prefer complimentary breakfasts, in-room refrigerators and coffee makers, pillow-top mattresses and high-speed Internet access.
"As the travel industry continues to rebound from the post-9/11 travel slump, hotel chains have benefited from the ability to invest significant funds to renovate guest rooms, enhance room amenities and improve food and beverage offerings," said Linda Hirneise, partner in the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power & Associates. "The key is in adding the kinds of value-added services guests really want."
Amadeus Adds Independent Hotels To GDS
Amadeus this month said it added 1,600 hotel properties to its global distribution system during the second quarter of this year—more than one-quarter of which are independently owned and managed hotels. The travel distributor said its Otedis subsidiary was "pivotal to this drive," as in the past year it added 700 independent hotels from 18 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. "From a Moroccan palace to a historic chateau in France, from a Patagonian spa retreat to luxury hotels in Lapland, these are not the hotels you expect from traditional distribution systems," Amadeus said in a statement.
Additionally, the company said it also has targeted lower-tier hotels in business centers and will continue to "work with corporations to include specific hotels used by their employees." "Independent hotels are increasingly important to leisure and corporate travel agencies alike," said Antoine Medawar, recently appointed managing director of Amadeus' hospitality business unit, "and we are working with our travel agency partners to bring these hotels into the system with a simple, easy-to-use solution."
Hotels See More Bookings Through Proprietary Sites
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Marriott International—like many major hotel companies—are experiencing year-over-year growth in bookings made through their proprietary Web sites, the companies said during their respective earnings calls last month. Starwood said so far this year gross bookings through its own online channels increased by about 30 percent when compared with 2004, "with gross dollar bookings from the proprietary branded sites increasing 45 percent." The company said online bookings represented 12 percent of overall gross dollar bookings—74 percent of which come through its own branded Web sites. Meanwhile, Marriott said last month that revenue from rooms booked through Marriott.com totaled $613 million last quarter—representing a 43 percent increase when compared with the same period last year. "Marriott.com represented 12 percent of total property-level room reservations during the quarter," the company said during its second-quarter earnings call last month.
ADR, RevPAR And Occupancy Continue Gains In July
The U.S. hotel market as a whole last month was the beneficiary of the summer travel season, making gains in occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room, according to data from Smith Travel Research. Performance in all three areas was up modestly when compared with numbers from June. Occupancy and average daily room rate for the four weeks ending July 30 were up to 73.25 percent and $90.94, respectively, up slightly for the four weeks ending July 2, when occupancy stood at 71.8 percent and ADR averaged $90.90. With improvements in occupancy and higher average rates, RevPAR for the four weeks ending July 30 was up more than one dollar—to $66.68 from $65.33—for the four weeks ending July 2.