Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement - Hotel Study Forum for People Performance Management and Measur | Page 3

Research Methodology
To investigate the linkages between employee perceptions, customer
perceptions and customer behavior, the study combined information from
employee and customer surveys with customer spending behavior drawn
from a loyalty program database. The objective of the employee and
customer surveys was to calibrate the strength and meaning of the hotel
brand and its services.
The research was conducted at six locations of a major hotel chain. The
locations were selected to represent both business and leisure properties
in three different cities. Surveys were administered in person by a
research associate who visited each hotel and asked employees to
complete a paper survey form.
The customers included in the study were randomly selected from
the hotel’s loyalty club database. Selected customers were interviewed by
telephone. The employees and the customers were asked the same set
of questions about the hotel brand as well as about a theoretical ideal
hotel and a major competing hotel. Collecting information about
perceptions of an ideal and competing hotel allows for comparison of
brand perceptions on key dimensions.
Information from the customer surveys was paired with data on
customer visitation and spending behavior from the loyalty program
database for the exact same customers. Matching customer survey
responses to actual spending behavior allows for strong inferences about
the relationships between perceptions and behavior.
Value Drivers in Hotel Category
The study utilizes an assessment of the drivers of brand value
developed by Brand Keys, Inc. That framework establishes and
measures both emotional and rational psychological dimensions
and shows how they determine brand equity. In this study, the
Brand Keys model produced four results in four value drivers,
which were named for their attribute, benefit and value
components, shown as follows: