iPerceptions, a leading provider of online Voice of Customer (VoC) analytics based on actual visitor feedback, said midscale and extended stay brand website visitors post higher overall satisfaction and task completion scores than those to luxury and economy brand sites.
The recently released Hospitality and Tourism Industry Report showed that task completion for midscale and extended stay brands increased significantly in the latter part of 2011, from 71 per cent and 73 per cent in the third quarter to 74 per cent and 80 per cent in Q4 respectively.
Conversely, task completion for luxury and economy brands posted slight losses during the same time period.
This phenomenon is likely impacted by perceptions of midscale and extended stay brands' value proposition, where the "bottom line attribute" - which measures a website's ability to save the visitor money - is rated significantly higher in these tiers than for luxury and economy brands.
Midscale and extended stay brands have historically included products and services such as free breakfast, complimentary shuttle and parking in order to increase their value offering and appeal.
In recent years, however, these brands have been taking things further, by developing strategies, programs and products to differentiate themselves and keep pace with their competitors. This works to not only further increase their value proposition, but also to elevate their brand image, narrowing the gap between them and luxury brands.
Claude Guay, president and CEO of iPerceptions, said: "Travellers will continue to search for the best value and the internet makes it very easy to comparison shop."
"As we have seen, midscale brands have improved the quality of their products and implemented strategies to enhance the guest experience in an effort to compete with luxury brands and gain market share.
"As the competitive landscape continues to grow and evolve, all hospitality and tourism brands will need [to] react and expand their product offering in order to meet consumer demand and expectations."
The report is based on immediate post-experience feedback from more than 110,000 visitors to 163 hospitality and tourism websites. The data represents aggregated information obtained from iPerceptions' webValidator and Q4 Suite surveys.
