Join me on LinkedIn - www.LinkedIn.com/MarcoAntonioCosentino How committed are gueststo your brand?31 October 2011By Stuart GreifHotelNewsNow.com columnistStuart.Greif@jdpa.comEditors note: This is the final in aseries of columns from J.D. Powers Stuart Greif that analyzes and providesdeeper insights into the companys 2011 J.D. Power and Associates North AmericaHotel Guest Satisfaction Study. In the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates North America HotelGuest Satisfaction Study, there are a number of questions asked related to howcommitted customers are to each ranked hotel brand. J.D. Power and Associates Customer Commitment Model J.D. Power and Associates includes a Customer CommitmentModel again in this years North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study. Themodel is comprised of three components: brand image, experience and personalstyle.Experience is the cornerstone of the model and is based onthe actual hotel guest experience and the corresponding overall satisfactionlevels captured in the study. The brand image component reflects the image guests have ofthe hotel brand where they stayed and includes questions that gauge howenvironmentally responsible, prestigious, trend-setting, customer-focused,exciting, modern and impressive a brand is in the estimation of guests. It is areflection of how the brand markets, promotes and positions itself as well ashow guests experience the brand. The personal style component is defined as guests inherentview of their own sensibilities and style (e.g. Am I more a frugal, hip,environmentally conscious and/or luxury-minded person?) All three components together measure customer commitment asa guests perception toward a hotel brand. Clearly, there are other elements atplay within the guest experience, such as the strength of a rewards program andhow that plays out on property with dedicated check-in lines, loyalty/memberfloors, reception areas and other benefits reflected in expectations andsatisfaction levels. The three components we use are the key drivers at a highlevel. The Customer Commitment Model provides an additional way tothink about and look at hotel performance in addition to measures aroundloyalty, advocacy and satisfaction that the study also explicitly addressesacross brands and across the industry. Differences in commitment acrosssegment scalesWhile a guests experience always hasthe largest impact on customer commitment regardless of segment, there are somedifferences across scales as displayed in the graphic above. As the importanceof Experience increases, the importance of personal style decreases, whilebrand Image remains relatively consistent across all seven segments. Personalstyle plays a smaller role than brand image in economy/budget and extendedstay, but a larger role in upper upscale, upscale and luxury. If a luxury guest who views himself as a bastion of stylewere to stay at an economy/budget hotel, for example, his sense of personalstyle from generally staying at luxury properties (34% on average) and where hevalues the importance of brand image (21% on average) makes it unlikely hewould become highly committed to the economy/budget brand even if he wassurprised at the positive experience.Why commitment mattersHighly committed guests are moresatisfied overall; have higher rates of advocacy/loyalty; and are more likelyto use a hotels restaurant and recreational facilities. Satisfaction is muchhigher among highly committed guests than among medium- and low-committedguests. Advocacy and loyalty rates are also much higher among highly committedguests, who are more likely to use various hotel services, eat at a hotelrestaurant and experience