Business Travel News' Top U.S. Hotel Chain Survey is an annual measure of major corporate travel planners' opinions of the properties their companies and clients use.

BTN sent out 1,500 questionnaires in each of five categories to a random sample of corporate travel managers and business travel agents in its subscriber base. R.I.C. Associates of Melville, N.Y., tabulated the 927 responses. To qualify to rate a particular hotel company, respondents were required to have done business with that chain within the past 12 months. The column "percentage usage" shows what percentage of the respondents used that company. Not every respondent rated every hotel company in every category, and those who left out a category in their ratings were not included in the average rating for that category or company.

There are nine hotel categories in this year's survey: deluxe, upper upscale, upscale, midprice with food and beverage, midprice without food and beverage, extended stay--which was broken into two segments this year, upscale and midprice--economy and budget.

Depending on the category, the hotels were rated on anywhere from six to 13 attributes, including quality of food, physical appearance, corporate rate programs and quality of the business center and meeting facilities. Ratings are on a numerical scale from one to 10, with the number highlighted indicating the high scorer for that category.

Of special note was HILTON HOTELS was way down the list (11th of 14) when ranked with it's peers just slightly ahead of Doubletree and last place Radisson. Confirms my recent observations. Hilton Garden Inns were better than average in their class.

Read it all at: http://www.btnonline.com/db_area/arc...2/00022100.htm

Thanks. A bit surprised at how very well Westin fared, particularly vs the competition in its class, and also how Sheraton fared somewhat poorly!