Community
Hospitality Perception Index (CHPI)
Introduction to the
CHPI
Cities, communities, regions, and
states all compete against each other for business employment and the visitor’s
dollars. Just like any decision,
businesses and visitors make rational choices where to go, when to return, how
much money to spend, and for entrepreneurs, whether to relocate or expand their
businesses. It has been proven time
and time again that by good planning and responsible public leadership some
communities outperform others.
The CHPI was originally developed in the mid-1990s by Professor Galbraith
to educate business and economics students how to obtain a sustainable advantage
in the highly competitive arena of economic development and tourism. It has been
progressively refined since its inception, and now represents a powerful measure
as to how well local communities are positioning themselves for economic
development.
Orientation of the
CHPI
The Community
Hospitality Perception Index (CHPI) measures a community’s attractiveness or
hospitality from the visitor’s perspective. The visitor, tourist and vacationer have
a lot of choices where to spend their money, and there are many choices. In today’s world, communities simply can
not make mistakes. There is plenty
of research to suggest that visitors are like any shopper – they want a safe,
uncluttered, attractive environment.
Communities are a little like grocery stores or restaurants, with a lot
of choices. But like a grocery
store or restaurant, nobody wants to shop in a dirty, cluttered, unorganized,
smelly, unattractive establishment with ignorant or rude employees. The shopper will simply look
elsewhere. It is exactly the same
when communities try to attract visitors or businesses. And it is all based on perceptions and
first impressions.
THE CHPI was developed from a variety of sources,
including other published economic development indices, the personal experiences
of Professor Galbraith on various planning and industrial development
commissions, various focus groups involving tourists and business leaders, and
from academic research regarding the reasons why business choice to locate in
certain communities and not others.
To this extent, the CHPI is a leading indicator of future economic
success, and has been shown to be correlated with visitor satisfaction measures,
economic growth, and business vacancy rates.
In addition, almost all research has shown that the
major reason why businesses relocate to a particular community is based upon the
business owner’s perception of community attractiveness and ambiance. 21st century firms, such as
high technology and corporate headquarters almost never locate in sloppy,
cluttered looking communities.
Grading of the
CHPI
The CHPI is similar to the grading of restaurants;
points are deducted from an initial 100 points. Up to 10 bonus points can be added.
90 to 100
= high hospitality,
80-90
acceptable hospitality;
70-80
barely passing, may indicate future problems,
Below
70, anti-hospitality, indication of
serious problems and poor local governmental planning – will ultimately turn
people away and discourage business locations.
Based on research, the CHPI incorporates over 30
separate measurements (to minimize scoring bias, typical a numerical or
percentage count within a specified region, such as along a random sample of a
series of ˝ mile stretches of road) along six broad categories. Most, although not all, of the measures
are directly under the control of the local elected government and planning
boards. The six categories are:
a) Problems with commercial
signage/clutter (unsafe signs,
blinking and other annoying signs, menu boards, misspellings, broken signs,
general proliferation and size, temporary signs, etc.) – 25 point maximum
deduction
b) Problems with
perceptions of safety and cleanliness (graffiti, trash on
roadway, maintenance of buildings, bars or security fences on store fronts,
etc.) – 30 point maximum deduction
c)
Problems with community
personality (do residents respond
to questions, how do residents rate the community, do local employees know
location of medical, police facilities, and parks, etc.) – 20 point maximum
deduction
d) Problems with community
planning (road maintenances,
available parking, sufficient green/park space, signage to tourist, medical, and
safety facilities, overhead utilities) – 20 point maximum deduction
e) Rating of overall
ambiance (rating of overall
“first-impression” attractiveness of community from a visitors perspective) – 5
point maximum deduction
f)
Bonus Points Added
(bike
paths, other “obvious” advanced planning efforts) – 10 points maximum
addition
Much of the perception of a community is based on its
commercial and retail areas (this is what the visitor sees first, drives through
on their way to a final destination, and ultimately develops their impressions
around). The CHPI is appropriate
for communities less than 50,000 (with no more than 5 major commercial or retail
areas); for communities greater than 50,000 the CHPI can be used to measure
identified neighborhoods or sub-communities.