Compete, Inc.'s Latest Spark! Advisory Identifies Key Travel Industry Market Phenomenon.

BOSTON -- Stress "Best Rate Guarantee" to avoid seasonal slip in share of hotel reservations

Compete, Inc., the leading predictive analytics firm, today announced the availability of its latest Spark! research advisory, "'Tis the season: for hotel brands to shift their marketing emphasis". The advisory can be found online at http://www.compete.com/FileDownload/Spark_June_13_2005.pdf.

In this Spark! edition Compete analyzed consumers' online travel research and buying behavior across top hotel brand sites such as Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hilton Hotels, Marriot, Starwood Hotels and Carlson Hotels Worldwide and aggregator brands including Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity.

Compete's research indicates that the aggressive marketing campaigns initiated by hotels during the past few years have boosted the market share of hotel brand sites. During the high booking months from April through July, however, Compete identified a market phenomenon indicating that consumers show an increased preference toward aggregator sites to book their mid-year travel. To help hotels understand how to counter this seasonal preference for aggregators, Compete surveyed several hundred consumers who completed an online reservation in 2004. The results of the survey identify a clear course of action to win consumers away from aggregators.

"Without a change in their marketing, hotel brands will experience another seasonal slip in share as consumers return to aggregators to book their mid-year travel," said Gregory Saks, senior associate at Compete. "The Best Rate Guarantee is one of the most effective ways for hotel brand sites to avoid the seasonal slip in share."

Select key findings from this edition of Spark! include:

--Consumers will book with brand sites if provided the best price and other perks.

Three-in-four consumers stated that a Best Rate Guarantee would have a significant impact on their decision to book through a hotel brand site versus an aggregator. Half of consumers identified complimentary room service/breakfast as a significant factor and one-third said online check-in was significant.

--Frequent aggregator customers are willing to switch to book directly with hotels.

Seventy-five percent of consumers who made an online reservation through an aggregator said they would purchase directly from a hotel brand site if they could receive the exact same price.

--Awareness of hotels' best rate programs is extremely low, but demand is high.

Fewer than five percent of consumers who visit a hotel brand site interact with content regarding a Best Rate Guarantee and only 28 percent of consumers who made a reservation at a hotel brand site recalled seeing any Best Rate Guarantee messaging. However, among consumers who made reservations and recalled Best Rate Guarantee messaging, over 70 percent stated that it influenced their purchase decision.

Spark! is a research series providing brands with the insight and information they need to better target consumers and enhance overall marketing effectiveness. It reports the latest research, trends and data impacting the financial services, wireless, travel and automotive industries.

About Compete

Compete provides the earliest indication of actual consumer behavior available, which gives clients the information needed to improve the effectiveness of customer acquisition, servicing, cross-sell and retention. Compete has proven that online data on consumer behavior is a predictive indicator of total demand and purchase intent - both offline and online. Compete leverages its database of the daily behavior of more than 10 million online consumers to offer predictive analytics, which Compete's industry experts interpret to provide clear recommendations for action. Since launching its services Compete has provided major auto manufacturers, financial services companies and wireless carriers with a unique vantage point on their customers and competitors not previously available. For more information visit http://www.compete.com.