(Source: Business Wire)
The wRatings Corporation, creators of the only standard customer rating system that measures stock performance, announced today the results of its annual rankings for the Most Competitive Travel & Transport companies. The study was written in collaboration with Capgemini, a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services.
This year's Top 20 welcomes eight newcomers, representing a 40% turnover from 2008. Transport firms dominate the rankings with 14 of the 20 spots. The biggest mover is Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) rising from #75 to #12 in 2009, possibly indicating a turn of the tide in consumer spending.
Gary A. Williams, founder & CEO of wRatings, says, "After a disastrous year, consumers are starting to show signs they will pay up for certain travel amenities. The biggest challenge is how they all tend to copycat each other. To grow revenue, Travel firms need to inject new ideas from other industries. Innovative pricing like JetBlue's all-you-can-fly pass is one example." In 2009, JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) is the only airline to make the top 20 ranking.
"In this report, we discuss how successful hoteliers can differentiate themselves via strong emphasis on the guest experience rather than simply slashing services and offerings," says Nick Dryfuse, Principal with Capgemini's Media & Entertainment group. "Hotels must develop their 'Branded Guest Experience' via two means: integrating their technology, business process and talent into a common guest experience platform and by realizing that transformation is a way of life, not a one time event."
To generate the report, a weekly survey is conducted with a representative sample of US consumers and business executives throughout every quarter. The firm has been conducting the surveys since 1999. A W Score of 100 means the business built the highest customer and economic advantages when compared to the 1,200+ stocks in the wRatings coverage.
2009 Rank 2008 Rank Company W Score 1 2 DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) 88.4 2 38 Union Pacific(NYSE: UNP) 85.4 3 14 Rockwell Collins(NYSE: COL) 79.3 4 20 Navios Maritime (NYSE: NM) 78.0 5 29 Kirby (NYSE: KEX) 77.2 6 43 Northrop Grumman(NYSE: NOC) 65.0 7 8 Carnival Corp.(NYSE: CCL) 64.7 8 18 Precision Castparts(NYSE: PCP) 63.7 9 3 Wyndham Hotel Group(NYSE: WYN) 63.5 10 1 Choice Branded-Hotels(NYSE: CHH) 62.8 11 21 Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) 62.6 12 75 Vail Resorts(NYSE: MTN) 61.7 13 11 Honeywell(NYSE: HON) 61.5 14 22 Goodrich (NYSE: GR) 58.1 15 42 BE Aerospace(NASDAQ: BEAV) 57.9 16 63 JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ: JBLU) 57.8 17 12 International Game Tech(NYSE: IGT) 56.1 18 6 InterContinental Hotels(NYSE: IHG) 55.7 19 16 Norfolk Southern(NYSE: NSC) 53.6 20 4 Embraer(NYSE: ERJ) 53.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Capgemini: http://www.us.capgemini.com/lp/0809_BGEHospitality.asp?chnid=87 wRatings: http://www.wratings.com/projections.php?s=2009
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