E-Poll Market Research

E-Score Brand: Travel Industry – Are Consumers Feeling Safe?

source: freepik

By looking at the crowds at the airports this past week we know that consumers are very much looking to break out and travel as soon as it is safe. The question is, how safe do people feel about travel and how much further does the industry have to go to mitigate those concerns?

Using E-Score Brand, we took an inside look at top hotel chains and rental brands to see how comfortable consumers are currently and what they can expect once restrictions are lifted across the country. 

Travel Brands: Safe – Trustworthy – Reliable

E-Score looked at key attributes such as Safe, Trustworthy, and Reliable across various age groups and income brackets to see how consumers feel about a variety of hotel and rental brands and how that can impact their business moving forward. (To see how additional hotel brands score, contact Michelle Waxman at mwaxman@epoll.com)

  • Marriott scores the highest of the four travel brands when it comes to Safety, Trust, and Reliability with leading scores across nearly all demographics measured. Marriott has made numerous efforts to gain consumer confidence announcing strict cleaning protocols and joining a group of hotels offering on-site COVID-19 testing for travelers. 
  • Although Vrbo isn’t new to the vacation rental category, it’s recent rebranding has put it in line to compete with Airbnb, and it’s proved to be a formidable challenger in terms of Safety. Vrbo leads it’s competitor in Trustworthy, and Reliable across all demographics measured and is nearly on par in Safe with Airbnb. 
  • When comparing rental service brands to hotel brands, the former has some ground to cover in Reliable, Trustworthy and Safe as both Best Western and Marriott edge out Airbnb and Vrbo in all three categories across all demographics. 
 

NPS® Scores – Purchase Intent – Brand Loyalty

Airbnb and Vrbo have been challenging the travel industry by building loyal customers though positive experience. With E-Score Brand we compared the brands’ Purchase Intent, Net Promoter Score® (NPS®), and measured the buzz  surrounding the competing brands. 

  • Marriott leads the way when it comes to consumer Appeal, boasting a +10% advantage over the three other travel brands.  The challenger brands, Airbnb and Vrbo, can look to more competitive ratings when it comes to a passionate fan base as both already outperform Best Western.
  • Vrbo is the buzziest of the travel brands by far, outperforming rival Airbnb as well as the two hotel chains when it comes to positive news and ad recall.  A potential factor to their success may have been the partnership with Paramount to help promote the new SpongeBob SquarePants film – creating a real-world version of SpongeBob’s pineapple home in Seal Beach, California.
 

Hotel Brand Awareness and Affinity

Despite safety concerns, rental service brands continue to disrupt the hotel industry and offer a convenient solution to travelers. With E-Score Brand, we measure how the two categories compare in Awareness, Appeal, and Fandom (Fan). 

  • Overall, the more established hotel chains led by Marriott outperform the vacation rental services when it comes to brand Awareness.  While Airbnb has dominated the vacation rental marketplace, Vrbo faces the challenge of increasing Awareness of their service while maintaining their competitive showing for brand affinity.
  • Marriott leads the way when it comes to consumer Appeal, boasting a +10% advantage over the three other travel brands.  
  • The challenger brands, Airbnb and Vrbo, can look to more competitive ratings when it comes to a passionate fan base as both already outperform Best Western.

New E-Score Brand

E-Score Brand has recently introduced a series of enhancements including:

  • Net Promoter Score® (NPS®)
  • Ad Recall
  • Brand Buzz
  • Brand Fandom
  • Social Media Engagement
  • New Brand Attributes

E-Score Brand allows you to uncover how you and your competitors are able to target consumers. Whether it’s measuring key attributes that consumers in your industry care about or seeing what strengths and weaknesses your competitors have, E-Score Brand can find the answers you’re looking for.

Contact mwaxman@epoll.com to learn more about how you can immediately access E-Score Brand by trying a one-month subscription at just $4,995.

Net Promoter® and NPS®are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld

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