Microtel Inns & Suites hotel franchises ranked highest in guest satisfaction in economy/budget hotel segment by J.D. Power and Associates for unprecedented fifth consecutive year.
For an unprecedented fifth consecutive year, Microtel Inns & Suites has been ranked highest in guest satisfaction among economy/budget hotel chains in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study(SM). Microtel – the chain of all newly-constructed, interior corridor hotels – is the only economy/budget brand in the hotel industry to have received this recognition five successive times.
J.D. Power and Associates cites in the study: “The fact that Microtel Inn & Suites has ranked highest in guest satisfaction in its segment for an unprecedented five years in a row certainly shows support for the tagline
on their web site: ‘Always Consistent … Always Great Service … Always Great Rates.'”
Microtel Inns & Suites scored highest of 15 national hotel brands in its segment, outperforming competitors in five key guest satisfaction measures including reservation, check-in/check-out, guestroom, hotel facilities, and costs and fees. Also noteworthy is that Microtel improved by double-digit scores in four of the measures (check-in/check-out, guestroom, hotel services and hotel facilities), further demonstrating its commitment to guest satisfaction.
“We are extremely proud and honoured to receive this recognition for the fifth straight time,” said Roy E. Flora, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of US Franchise Systems, Inc., parent company of the
franchisor of the Microtel hotel franchise brand. “We especially want to thank our employees and our franchisees, who deliver quality accommodations and excellent customer service every day, and our customers, who affirm that what we deliver is the very best in its class.”
Microtel has raised the bar on the types of amenities that travellers can expect in their hotel rooms and is the first economy/budget hotel brand to offer guests free local and long distance phone calls within the continental U.S., plus free wireless high speed Internet access in all guestrooms nationwide. The 2006 North America Guest Satisfaction Index Study is based on responses from 42,221 guests who stayed in a hotel between January and June
2006. The study, now in its tenth year, measures guest satisfaction based on seven factors: reservation, check-in/check-out, guestroom, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and costs and fees.
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm‘s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.
There are currently 264 Microtel hotels open including the brand’s first Canadian property (in Parry Sound, Ontario), and 19 hotels under construction, including an international property in Boracay Island, The Philippines. Microtel continues to demonstrate its leadership position in the economy lodging segment with increased levels of development activity and with 56 franchises sold year to date. The robust activity is also
evident in Microtel’s pipeline, which currently consists of a backlog of 173 executed franchise agreements and an additional 92 approved in-house applications pending execution.