Defining the Problem (1). The president of a motel chain is preparing to make a decision a...

Defining the Problem (1). The president of a motel chain is preparing to make a decision among four ownership groups competing for a franchise to open a new motel in a fast-growing edge city (a suburban area that has a large concentration of offices and shopping areas). The president of the chain has requested that a comparison of guest satisfaction be made for guests at motels currently operated by the four groups.

Collecting Data (2). All four-groups have operated other motels in the geographic area, so the chain has requested addresses or former guests so that information about consumer satisfaction could be obtained by using a mailed customer-satisfaction questionnaire. Initially, an analysis of the most recent guest survey results obtained by the four groups from their customers was to form the basis for the analysis. However, it was determined that the type and phrasing of questions were considerably different for the four groups. This would make the analysis of the data impossible because the data would not be consistent from all four groups. A questionnaire was designed to determine customers' satisfaction with their stay at each of the four groups' motels. The two key areas of interest, as far as the president is concerned, are guests' ratings of building quality (room, restaurant, exercise facility, etc.) and service quality. Both are rated on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 denoting poor, 3 denoting average, and 5 denoting excellent, in the guests' opinions. Based on the size of necessary power of tests of hypotheses and the precision of confidence interval estimators, 11 was determined that a sample of at least 100 guests from each of the four ownership groups was necessary. Because only about a 20% response rate could be anticipated from the mailed questionnaires, 500 recent guests of each group were randomly selected and sent a questionnaire.

Summarizing Data (3). Of course, the president would prefer to grant the franchise to the ownership group that had achieved the best ratings. The financial arrangements negotiated with. the groups were very similar, so much of the decision hinged on the ratings. The president realize that the survey covered only a small fraction of the people who had stayed at the various groups’ motels in the recent past. However, the survey was the most unbiased information available about how the chain's customers perceived the four contending groups.

The president is not sure whether to emphasize the building ratings or the service ratings. In addition, there is a question of whether to compare the entire range of ratings or to concentrate on the proportion of guests giving an above average (4 or 5) rating.

The data from the questionnaires were summarized into the following two tables, one for building quality ratings and one for service quality ratings. The president asks you to analyze the ratings and provide inferences concerning the relative standings of the four ownership groups. He is concerned about how a survey of such a small percentage of the guests can accurately estimate the quality ratings of alf guests of the motels. The methods of this chapter will enable you to answer the questions posed by the president.

Analyzing Data, Interpreting the Analyses, and Communicating Results (4).

a. Analyze the data to answer the president's questions. Be sure to include confidence intervals, test of hypotheses, and any pertinent graphs. The computer output is given on the following pages.

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b. Write a nontechnical explanation of what your analysis reveals.