The conference, which consists of five online symposia, will run throughout 2001. Each symposium will cover a key aspect of customer satisfaction research in the hotel industry, and each topic will be live for two months. Interested parties can participate in the discussions by logging into www.hospitality-feedback.com and clicking on the conference link. Virtual delegates are able either to post an initial comment, or comment on someone else’s contribution. Results and an archive of past debates will also be available on the website.

According to Stuart Scher, Chairman of TNS H&L, "The first symposium, "What are the Drivers of Satisfaction?" was launched last month. It is designed both to enlighten and inform hoteliers in their efforts to drive improvements in all areas of customer satisfaction research. The result has been a lively and critical discussion, which we hope will lead to improved understanding of satisfaction in a key growth area of the global economy. We know that the customer’s experience is at the heart of the hotel industry. Trying to measure this complex phenomenon, widely believed to affect competitive advantage and long-term profitability, is a key issue for hoteliers. In contrast, having researched the subject extensively, many academics take the position that there is no undisputed theoretical grounding for this view. We hope these symposia will broaden debate on these issues."