The Market Metrix Hospitality Index, which is based on 35,000 consumer interviews conducted each quarter, includes a variety of measures about the hotel-reservation experience, both online and offline. This data provides special insight into the growing popularity of Web site usage and the satisfaction with the online experience.

The growth of online booking as a percentage of overall reservations continues to grow dramatically. More people are booking online and less people are booking through central-reservations telephone numbers and offline travel agencies. For example, over the past three years, Best Western International has seen online bookings grow from between 10 percent to 15 percent of overall traffic to around 40 percent today. At Choice Hotels International, nearly 60 percent of reservations now come from online bookings.

The majority of people who make reservations online are booking directly on the hotel or brand's Web site. This is quite an achievement for the hotel industry despite many new Web sites attempting to book or refer hotel reservations. Now hotel companies are paying less money to travel portals and are establishing relationships directly with their guests.

Because travelers are increasingly using the Internet to book hotel reservations, the online interface is an important part of the overall experience for many hotel guests. The quality of the experience with the Web site can influence customers' decision-making, ultimately reinforcing loyalty or losing customers for the brand.

In 2004 and 2005, hotel Web sites were outscored by Yahoo! Travel and Hotwire for satisfaction with the online-reservation experience. But, in 2006 for the first time, on average, hotel Web sites scored higher in satisfaction (providing a better reservations experience) than popular travel Web sites. To make these gains, hotel sites have improved their navigation, design, usefulness of information, ease of booking and other critical components of the online experience.

The top performing hotel site for 2006 (quarters 1-3) was Drury Inns. According to travelers, Drury's Web site delivered the best user experience compared to all other hotel brand Web sites. Sleep Inns (Choice) and Courtyard by Marriott (Marriott International) finished closely behind Drury. Hotel and brand Web sites have improved significantly, and many of these sites outscore the best Internet travel portals in overall satisfaction with the online experience.