Study Finds Hotel Guests Watch More Television Commercials

Study Finds Hotel Guests Watch More Television Commercials

The Hotel Networks Commissioned Study Tracks Hotel Guests' Media Habits, Programming Preferences and Advertising Receptivity

NEW YORK, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hotel Networks (THN), a subsidiary of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ:LNET), today announced the results of an independent study conducted by Zoomerang, the pioneer of online surveys, on the receptiveness to different forms of advertising in the hotel room by guests.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/AQTU120LOGO)

"It was our objective to discover the characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of hotel guests when it comes to programming and advertising in that environment," said Derek White, President of The Hotel Networks. "This study found some very encouraging results for advertisers and further validates what our own set-top box data has been telling us for years -- the hotel room is a highly effective out of home advertising platform by every conceivable measurement."

One aspect of the report compares the highly coveted affluent business travelers' and affluent leisure travelers' receptiveness to hotel room advertising. Survey results indicate that hotel guests are much less likely to multitask while watching TV compared to TV viewing at home. Furthermore, respondents indicate that they watch more TV commercials in their hotel room than at home. The study also looks at DVR usage; of those that indicate owning a DVR at home, more than half fast-forward through commercials.

Among the key findings:

-- 28.3% of business travelers and 23.9% of leisure travelers watch more TV commercials in a hotel room

-- 43% of business and 67.1% of leisure respondents multitask more while watching TV at home than in a hotel

-- 46.2% of business and 47.5% of leisure respondents have a digital video recorder (DVR) or TIVO in their home

-- 64.7% of both business and leisure respondents use their DVR or TIVO at home to fast forward through commercials

-- 85.3% of business and 86.1% of leisure respondents with a DVR or TIVO who indicated fast-forwarding through commercials, fast forward through Most or ALL commercials

-- 25.9% of business and 25.0% of leisure respondents watched a TV program they had never seen before in a hotel room and later began watching that program at home

-- 20.3% of business and 17.5% of leisure respondents watched a TV channel they had never seen before in a hotel room and later began watching that channel at home

-- 44.2% of business and 48.6% of leisure respondents would be interested in watching a free sneak preview of a new TV show on-demand in their hotel room

"These findings clearly indicate the advantages for both advertisers and programmers in the hotel room environment, which is less cluttered and creates a more engaged consumer," added White. "In addition to being a superior advertising space, the hotel room is ideal for generating new program sampling and it is evident that this trial creates high levels of conversion, both to new cable channels and to new shows."

Furthermore, the study reveals that news and weather TV programming are top priorities for guests staying in hotel rooms. 70.7% of respondents ranked news, and 46.8% ranked weather in their top 5 types of hotel programming. Business travelers show the most preference for news, with the highest percentage of all segments citing news TV channels, news websites, and news magazines as their preference.

The Zoomerang Internet survey was conducted in August 2008 consisting of multiple-choice, ranking, and listing questions. 2,250 responses were received from U.S. travelers who had taken at least one trip involving a hotel stay within the last twelve months. Respondents of the study represented two segments: affluent business travelers who took at least one business trip in the past twelve months and who stayed most often in hotel chains in Smith Travel Research's upper-upscale or luxury segment; with the second segment representing affluent leisure travelers who traveled only for leisure and who stayed most often in hotel chains in Smith Travel Research's upper-upscale or luxury segment.

About The Hotel Networks

The Hotel Networks (THN), a subsidiary of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ:LNET), is the leading marketing solutions provider in the hotel space. THN delivers a premium package of ten national cable networks, advertiser-supported video-on-demand programming, and on-site promotions to upscale and business class hotels nationwide. THN's innovative advertising platform efficiently targets the coveted travel, business and affluent markets and combines the best attributes of cable television, out-of-home, interactive and promotional marketing. For more information, please visit http://www.thehotelnetworks.com/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/AQTU120LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: LodgeNet Interactive Corporation

CONTACT: Alison Holmes of The Hotel Networks, +1-212-317-0868,
aholmes@thehotelnetworks.com; or Ray Yeung, yeung@braincomm.com, or Scott
Cianciulli, cianciulli@braincomm.com, both of Brainerd Communicators,
+1-212-986-6667, for LodgeNet Interactive Corporation

Web site: http://www.thehotelnetworks.com/

-------
Profile: intent