iPerceptions and HSMAI Release 'Online Satisfaction and Experience in the Hospitality Industry' Report for Q2 2012

MONTREAL--(Marketwire - Sep 13, 2012) - iPerceptions Inc., a leading provider of online Voice of Customer (VoC) analytics derived from actual visitor feedback, and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), a thought leader and catalyst for hotel revenue growth, today announced the release of their 'Online Satisfaction and Experience in the Hospitality Industry' report for Q2 2012. For the second consecutive year, the outlook for summer/fall travel brightened, with more than three in five U.S. adults planning on taking at least one trip for leisure purposes before November.

Although the share of leisure travelers increased significantly in Q2 2012 to 64%, compared to 59% in Q1, the report uncovered that almost 1 in 3 online bookers do not complete their intended reservation. Room unavailability and usability issues such as navigational difficulties and cluttered layout were the main reasons identified for not completing a reservation. The data further underscores the importance of hospitality sites ensuring that room inventory is up-to-date online and that all features are working smoothly to boost the chances of conversion.

"The recent increase in leisure travelers is very encouraging news for the hospitality and tourism sector which has suffered setbacks during the recent financial recession," said Duff Anderson, VP of Insight at iPerceptions. "But the recent economic downturn has also led consumers to become quite savvy when it comes to securing the best value they can find. Therefore, offering competitive rates and standing by the Best Rate Guarantee will be important to build confidence with website visitors."

The study also determined that the majority (68%) of hospitality and tourism website visitors are repeat visitors. Over three-quarters (77%) of leisure travelers were members of a loyalty program in Q2 2012, a slight yet significant increase over Q1 (76%), suggesting positive intentions of future travel among this website visitor group.

"As hospitality brands compete to keep customer loyalty, content personalization will become increasingly important to maintain traction with website visitors," Anderson added. "Brands should look to implement programs that personalize content based on visitor profiles and preferences. Delivering more relevant content to online visitors offers new opportunities for brands to create a competitive advantage as they explore content optimization and personalization solutions. Content personalization improves the website visit and ultimately, increases revenue and customer loyalty."

The report is based on immediate post-experience feedback from nearly 81,000 visitors to 163 hospitality websites. The data represents aggregated information obtained from iPerceptions' webValidator and 4Q Suite surveys.

The report can be found on the iPerceptions website at www.iperceptions.com/resource-center.

About HSMAI
The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals & their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI's MEET, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. For more information, please visit www.hsmai.org.

About iPerceptions
iPerceptions is the leader in online Voice of Customer analytics, using advanced intercept surveys to gather feedback from representative samples of actual visitors. Its webValidator Continuous Listening solution and 4Q Suite solution turn millions of data points into easy-to-understand strategic and tactical decision support, while its Web Analytics Solution Profiler (WASP) provides superior web analytics quality assurance. iPerceptions' clients include such well-known brands as InterContinental Hotels, Fairmont, Best Western, Choice Hotels International and Wyndham Vacations. For more information, please visit www.iperceptions.com.

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