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Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index Identifies the Most Innovative Travel & Hospitality Companies

Dépèche transmise le 28 avril 2011 par Business Wire

Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index Identifies the Most Innovative Travel & Hospitality Companies

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Innovaro (NYSE Amex:INV), a comprehensive innovation solution company, and The wRatings Corporation, an independent stock research firm, today announced the results of their quarterly Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index, with the focus of this issue on the Travel and Hospitality industry. The study was conducted as a collaborative effort between Strategos, the strategic services division of Innovaro, and The wRatings Corporation.

“Throughout its long history, the Travel and Hospitality industry has always been extremely competitive”

While some of the oldest companies still in operation¹ are in Travel and Hospitality, organizations in the industry appear to never stop innovating, as this quarter’s Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index saw one of the highest scores in innovation performances when compared with other industries analyzed². The average score of the industry was 61.9 points on the Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index, substantially higher than the average, 55.2 points of all the other industries analyzed. The restaurant subgroup scored 70.9 points, nearly matching the top performing industry of Foods and Beverages, which scored 71.2 points. This quarter’s assessment offers proof that no industry is too mature for innovation.

“Throughout its long history, the Travel and Hospitality industry has always been extremely competitive,” explains Gary A. Williams, CEO and founder of wRatings, which benchmarks industry competitiveness. “In an environment of this intense competition, only innovators survive; so, it’s no wonder we see the high innovation performance here.”

“The Travel and Hospitality industry is capital intensive, and asset utilization is a key driver to success,” states George Chen, a Director of Strategos and author of this quarter’s report. “While the forces of economics are inescapable, existing business models and practices are not gospels that cannot be questioned, and the most successful innovators are the ones that overturn expired industry orthodoxies.”

In this edition of the Strategos/wRatings Innovation Index, we analyzed the 69 largest public companies in Travel and Hospitality, including 42 restaurants, 12 hotel chains, 12 airlines, and 3 cruise lines. All companies received an Innovation Index rating, with 100 equaling the most innovative. The top performers for each segment are:

The report and full details of the methodology are available at www.strategos.com, www.wratings.com and www.innovaro.com. Detailed ranking and score data are available to wRatings subscribers.

About Innovaro, Inc.

Innovaro, Inc. is a comprehensive end-to-end innovation solution provider. With fully scalable solutions, whether for a global 1000 company, small R&D lab or university scientist, we help our clients create breakthrough innovation, realize latent value in their IP and accelerate their innovations to market. Leading companies trust us to create profitable growth, new revenue streams, enduring capabilities and lasting value through innovation.

Strategosis the strategic innovation consulting division of Innovaro. Strategos helps clients innovate and grow by bringing innovation to their core business and organization. For more information about us, please visit our websites at www.innovaro.com and www.strategos.com.

About wRatings Corporation

The wRatings Corporation is an independent stock research firm based in metro Washington DC. The company was founded by Harvard Business Review author and research expert, Gary A. Williams. He and his team continually study consumer and executive buying behavior to project the future earnings performance of companies. Since 1999, their original set of leading indicators helps investors, corporations and consultants improve their performance by using a common framework to measure the competitive strength of companies. For more information, visit www.wRatings.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as “expects,” “should,” “believes,” “anticipates” or words of similar import. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements and these factors are identified from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release is available on Innovaro’s website www.innovaro.com.

¹ According to “the list of oldest companies” in Wikipedia, the oldest hotel still in operation, Japan’s Hoshi Ryokan, first opened its doors in 718, and the oldest restaurant still in operation is Austria’s Stiftskeller St. Peter, which resides within the monastery walls of St. Peter’s Archabbey and opened in 803.

² Previous assessments include: 2009: Consumer Electronics; 2010-1Q: Foods and Beverages; 2010-2Q: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices; 2010-3Q: Financial Services; 2010-4Q: Telecommunications and Media.