MARKET METRIX ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2005 HOSPITALITY INDEX RESULTS

--Customer Loyalty with hotels drops for first time since 9-11 --

--New measure of guest problems show that hotel staff have biggest impact on loyalty--

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - May 10, 2005 -- Market Metrix, LLC, the leading provider of market research services for the hospitality industry, today announced results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) for the second quarter of this year. Ritz-Carlton, JetBlue Airways and Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively.

Following the first ever, year-over-year decline in hotel guest satisfaction, overall scores resumed their upward climb in the second quarter, increasing by a modest 0.1%. However, Market Metrix results indicate a year-over-year decline in overall satisfaction (2003 vs. 2004) and a half-over-half decline (Jan-June 04 vs. Jan-June 05).

These results may help to explain the surprise drop in hotel guest loyalty. This is the first quarter in the past several years that self-reported loyalty for hotels has declined. This is confirmed by an increase (Q1-05 vs. Q2-05) in staff related problems -- problems with hotel staff have biggest impact on loyalty.

On a year-over-year basis, the decline in hotel guest loyalty is broad-based with the biggest decline in loyalty occurring among luxury guests (-10.8%) followed by Casino (-5.2%) and Economy segment guests (-4.4%). Recent declines in customer satisfaction may have played a role in this outcome.

Other highlights from this quarter’s results include:

• Customer Satisfaction in the Extended Stay segment plummeted 2.71% year-over-year. This is their lowest level ever (82.9).
  
  
• Problems with hotel staff are the most severe and lead to reduced loyalty of guests. Hotel guests who report having a problem with a hotel staff member are 43 percentage points less likely to return to that hotel than guests who did not experience a problem.
  
  
• Women business travelers have the most problems (17.6 percent), much more than their male counterparts (12.4 percent). Most likely to report a problem: A 40-something female traveling for business.
  

MMHI Top-Hospitality Rankings Q2 2005
Hotel - Overall
Ritz-Carlton

Airline
JetBlue Airways

Car Rental
Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Luxury Hotels
Ritz-Carlton

Upper Upscale
Kimpton Hotels

Upscale Hotels
SpringHill Suites

Midscale w/ F&B
Clarion

Midscale w/o F&B
Drury Inns

Economy Hotels
Jameson Inns

Extended-Stay Hotels
Homewood Suites

Vacation Clubs
Disney Vacation Club

Upscale Casino
Bellagio

Casino
Atlantis Reno

Hotel Reservations Website – Hotel Brand
Hampton Suites

Hotel Reservations Website – Travel
Hotwire.com

(w/o F&B = without food & beverage)

About MMHI
The Market Metrix Hospitality Index is a quarterly report of customer satisfaction with hotel, airline and car rental companies based on 35,000 in-depth consumer interviews. The MMHI ranks top hospitality brands by industry and, for hotels, by categories such as luxury, mid-price and economy. Detailed, in-depth and customized reports are available for subscribers. No other customer satisfaction index offers MMHI's reporting frequency, volume of customer interviews, cross-industry results or innovative satisfaction measures.

About Market Metrix
Market Metrix, LLC was founded in 1996 to provide the hospitality industry with better customer and employee satisfaction measurement programs and management tools. In addition to MMHI, Market Metrix provides clients with award-winning survey systems and strategic services. Market Metrix also operates the Consumer Research Center, which provides focus group services, data entry services and a state-of-the-art specialty call center. For more information, log onto www.marketmetrix.com or call 1-800-239-7515.

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Contact:
Krishna Amin
Market Metrix
tel 415-721-1300
fax 415-721-1314
http://www.marketmetrix.com