There are many
criteria by which planners choose hotels, ranging from
basics such as location and amount of meeting space to
recommendations from peers. Then there are hotel ratings, a
seemingly straightforward way to judge a property’s overall levels
of comfort and service.
Only it’s not so straightforward. There
are multiple rating systems vying for credibility with planners and
consumers, and seldom do these systems reach a tidy consensus on
the merits of a particular property. For example, the Monte Carlo
Resort & Casino in Las Vegas garners four diamonds from AAA and
three stars from Mobil Travel Guide; Expedia bestows a 3.5-star
rating and a 4.0 “traveler opinion” rating, and Trip-Advisor weighs
in with three stars and 3.5 “owls”; Travelocity gives the resort
four stars and 3.5 “smiley faces.”
Outside North America, the problem can
be even more confusing when a country’s own hotel ratings are added
to the mix (See “Distant Star Systems” on page 62). Some hotels (at
least one in Italy and several in Dubai) boast as many as seven
stars, though M&C can’t find a governing body that
confers more than five.
If all of this seems perplexing, many
planners concur. In an M&C reader survey (see “Going
to the Source,” page 60), 47 percent of respondents admitted they
are somewhat or very confused by the topic.
Ultimately, there are dozens of rating
systems meeting professionals can tap into, and each has its own
judging criteria. What’s not available -- and very much needed,
according to 68 percent of respondents to our poll -- is a
consistent, universal ratings code.
But we’re not likely to see one anytime
soon. None of the leading industry groups -- the Travel Industry
Association and American Hotel & Lodging Associations, both
based in Washington, D.C., and the Paris-based International Hotel
& Restaurant Association -- backs the idea.
If there is a note of agreement in the
world of hotel ratings, it is that Mobile Travel Guide and AAA are
in a class by themselves. They are “the most established ratings
systems in the United States,” according to a spokesperson for the
AHLA, which lauds the two systems “because they are based primarily
on objective criteria.”
What follows is a roundup of the most
popular hotel rating systems available today, along with details on
how the assessments are made.
Mobil Travel Guide
www.mobiltravelguide.com
Mobil Travel Guide is celebrating its
50th anniversary this year. The Chicago-based company, after going
through two owners in the past two years, is now a stand-alone
entity. MTG has its own field staff of 50 that annually rates
approximately 9,000 properties in the United States, Canada, Mexico
and the Caribbean on a scale of one to five stars.
The star level is derived via two lines
of inquiry. First, facility inspections evaluate a property’s
cleanliness, physical condition and location, resulting in a one-
to three-star rating. Based on the facility inspection, properties
that might qualify for a prestigious four- or five-star
certification move on to the second level, a service inspection.
Here, one of MTG’s incognito service inspectors visits the hotel
for three days/two nights, during which he or she interacts with
staff, orders room service, visits the spa and engages in other
typical guest activities. These inspectors evaluate properties in
more than 500 areas, ranging from staff appearance, behavior and
skill level, to food quality, housekeeping, concierge service and
luggage delivery within 10 minutes of check-in, along with making
general observations of facility, staff and how other guests are
being treated.
Star ratings are defined as
follows.
* One star: A clean,
comfortable and reliable establishment with limited services and
amenities.
* Two stars: Expanded
services including a full-service restaurant.
* Three stars:
Well-appointed establishments that feature a full-service
restaurant and expanded amenities and services such as room service
and a fitness center.
* Four stars: An
outstanding establishment in a distinctive setting with expanded
amenities and exceptional service, including valet parking and
24-hour room service.
* Five stars:
Properties with an exceptionally distinctive luxury environment
offering all of the above and consistently outstanding service.
As of this year, MTG will begin to
review properties in destinations outside North America, beginning
with Beijing in April, followed by Hong Kong and Macau in the fall.
A London guide will be forthcoming next year.
Mobil’s hotel ratings are available free via the company’s
website; hard copies of Mobil Travel Guide publications are
available for purchase.
GOING TO THE SOURCE
Two-thirds of meeting planners consult some type of ratings source when booking a hotel for their meeting or event, according a survey of 153 planners conducted by M&C Research in February. The ratings they turned to most often were those of online travel sites like TripAdvisor and Travelocity, cited by 72 percent of respondents. Fifty-nine percent of those polled refer to AAA’s ratings, and 26 percent consult Mobil Travel Guide’s rankings.
In a market with a plethora of ratings sources, often with disparate findings, can planners make sense of it all? Forty-two percent say hotel ratings are somewhat confusing; 32 percent consider them not too confusing; 20 percent don’t find them confusing at all and just 5 percent consider them very confusing.
When asked if the U.S. government should step in and establish a mandated hotel rating system, 29 percent of planners think that’s a good idea, while 42 percent don’t believe it’s necessary and 28 percent aren’t sure.
However, more than two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) feel strongly that the global hospitality community, including the United States, should adopt a universal ratings system. Twenty-one percent are unsure, and just 11 percent don’t think it’s needed. -- L.G.
AAA TourBook
www.aaa.com
Like Mobil, AAA diamond ratings cover properties in the United
States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. This well-established
rating system, part of the American Automobile Association (yes,
the same group that provides roadside service to stranded drivers),
has been around since 1977.
Unlike MTG, properties must apply to
AAA to undergo an evaluation and receive a rating. The organization
has 65 inspectors, known as tourism editors, who currently review
some 32,000 properties in North America. This system, too, tests
hotels according to two sets of standards. First, properties earn
an “approved” designation, based on cleanliness, comfort and
security. Next, AAA’s inspectors assign each approved hotel a
rating of one to five diamonds:
* One diamond
typically is assigned to budget, no-frills accommodations that meet
the basic requirements pertaining to comfort, cleanliness and
hospitality.
* Two diamonds are
conferred on moderately priced properties whose amenities represent
distinct upgrades of their one-diamond counterparts (e.g.,
higher-quality room furnishings).
* Three diamonds are
earned by multifaceted properties with a distinguished style and
further upgrades in the amenities and level of comfort
provided.
* Four diamonds are
assigned to properties considered upscale in all areas, with an
extensive array of amenities and a high degree of hospitality,
service and attention to detail.
* Five diamond
properties reflect the pinnacle in luxury and sophistication, with
meticulous service that exceeds guest expectations.
Of special note to planners: AAA
listings include a business services category that contains
information on meeting facilities. A community content section,
where guests can post their own comments about reviewed properties,
was added last year.
AAA’s website is free; the company’s
TravelBook publications are available, at no extra cost, to AAA
members.
Online ratings
Increasingly, planners (72 percent of
them, according to our survey) are consulting websites in which
business and leisure travelers alike take the initiative to rate
their hotel stays.
“Word-of-mouth ratings are becoming
increasingly important and influential in the mind of the
consumer,” notes an AHLA spokesperson, “the perception being that
the review is unbiased and more ‘real’ compared to standardized
rating systems.”
But a common complaint within the
hospitality industry holds that reviews from “citizen journalists”
and bloggers are not monitored or standardized like Mobil or AAA
ratings, potentially resulting in distorted and unfair
appraisals.
The three consumer-rating resources
profiled below have attempted to prevent such problems by
instituting stringent monitoring and safeguard policies; all
include listings for hotels in most regions of the globe.
TripAdvisor
www.tripadvisor.com
This Needham, Mass.-based travel site,
established in 2000, features two separate rating systems. The
first, based on guest evaluations, is called the Popularity Index
and uses one to five owls in ascending order of quality. “Owls are
determined by the reviewer’s experience, not a set of criteria like
whether there is a separate shower and tub,” says Brian Payea,
trade relations manager for TripAdvisor. However, he notes, common
attributes rated include cleanliness, value and suitability for
specific types of travelers, such as singles, seniors and
families.
Although the site is geared primarily
for consumers, Payea says that “a lot of the time, we are a
secondary check [e.g., after using Mobil Travel Guide] for planners
to get the most up-to-date information on a property, because the
proprietary rankings, as well as TripAdvisor’s forums, are updated
daily.
“Every review is read and checked,”
Payea adds. “We use a number of automated tools to weed out
fraudulent postings, and we have a special fraud detection team. As
a meeting planner, I’d look to see how recent complaints were; we
also have a response area that allows hotel management to rebut or
comment on postings.”
TripAdvisor’s other ratings system is
that of Star Service Online (www.starserviceonline.com), a subscriber-based hotel
rating system for travel professionals owned by M&C’s
parent firm, Northstar Travel Media. The approximately 9,000
properties in Star Service Online are classified from one to five
stars based on the personal inspections of its 25 correspondents,
who assess the hotel’s overall character and range of facilities,
amenities and services.
DISTANT STAR SYSTEMS
As in the United States, the hotel star rating systems used by different countries can, at first glance, look the same whether they are applied to a posh Parisian hotel or a breezy Bahamian getaway. But the criteria behind them varies, depending on the country and the entity that administers the rating.
“The German rating system is the most accurate and is updated every few years,” notes Sandy Cutrone, president of European Connection, a meetings and incentives firm based in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., “but France is a big problem, as currently their classification only goes up to four stars. Italy is total chaos, with hotels basically setting their own rating as long as they have certain basic amenities -- an elevator, room service, porters, etc. -- and very good hotels often rate themselves lower than they should to keep taxes lower.”
Following is a look at a some popular international meetings destinations and their hotel ratings systems.
CHINA
As China has prepared for the Olympics and its more prominent role on the international stage, a one- to five-star rating system, run by the China National Tourism Administration, has emerged. In a place that’s infamous for its bureaucracy, China’s rating system is surprisingly loose and open to interpretation. For example, for a hotel to achieve a three-star rating, its rooms must be “cozily appointed and furnished” with color TV, telephone and stereo, among other requirements. Hotels with higher rankings might have swimming pools, safety deposit boxes, and facilities for other sports and leisure activities.
FRANCE
French hotels are graded on a zero- to four-star scale, with standards set by the French government. Requirements for each level include:
* Zero stars: five rooms minimum, bathroom can be communal;
* One star: seven rooms minimum, private bathroom and toilet in at least 20 percent of rooms;
* Two stars: seven rooms minimum, one foreign language spoken by staff;
* Three stars: 10 rooms minimum, breakfast can be served in rooms;
* Four stars: 10 rooms minimum, private bathrooms in all rooms; and
* Four stars luxe: 10 rooms minimum, double rooms of at least 150 square feet.
Changes are coming to the French system, however. The French government reportedly wants to add a fifth star to accommodate exceptional luxury “palaces.” The new rating level could take effect by year’s end.
GERMANY
Teutonic efficiency and attention to detail is the order of the day within Germany’s star rating system, which was created by DEHOGA, the German Hotel and Catering Association. To determine a star total, each property is awarded points under a whopping 279 criteria, in categories such as the following:
* Furniture/equipment (e.g., a bidet equals three points);
* Service (a valet equals 15 points);
* Leisure (a solarium is worth three points);
* Conference facilities (daylight in the conference room garners five points).
For most hotels, 90 points earn one star, 170 earn two, 250 earn three, 380 are worth four and 570 earn five.
GREAT BRITAIN
Although hotel star ratings are assessed individually by the four tourism boards that make up Visit Britain (England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man), all of Great Britain’s star ratings have been “harmonized,” meaning that a five-star Welsh or Scottish property can be relied upon to be of the same stellar quality and high service level as a five-star property in England. To that end, British requirements for what constitutes a five-star property include:
* Staff are impeccably dressed and in uniform;
* Heating is controllable 24 hours a day by the guest;
* Illumination is provided inside the clothing wardrobe;
* Most rooms are considered to be “very spacious.”
MEXICO, THE CARIBBEAN
South of the border, few governmental bodies are responsible for hotel ratings. Instead, AAA, which also rates properties in the United States and Canada, grades the accommodation options on a scale of one to five diamonds.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Tourism Grading Council, a government body closely associated with South Africa’s national tourism organization, rates only those properties that volunteer themselves to be graded. An inspector will assign a hotel one to five stars according to an exhaustive checklist that covers everything from bedroom decor to condition of the gardens.
-- HUNTER R. SLATON
Travelocity
www.travelocity.com
The popular Southlake, Texas-based
Travelocity was launched in 1996 and also uses two different types
of ratings. Stars (one to five, and now with half-stars) are based
on site inspections, post-trip customer feedback and other
research, and serve to evaluate a hotel’s level of comfort and
style. Criteria covers the usual bases, including decor, room
service availability, quality of on-site restaurants and more.
Ratings break down as follows.
* One star: Typically
budget properties that provide clean guest rooms; many do not have
a restaurant on site.
* Two stars:
Properties meet basic needs for comfort while offering moderate
aesthetic enhancements. Some have limited restaurant service.
* Three stars: Hotels
offer a higher level of service, with additional amenities and
facilities. They often feature full-service restaurants, valet
parking and fitness centers.
* Four stars:
Properties considered superior with a high level of service and
hospitality, as well as a wide variety of amenities and upscale
facilities.
* Five stars: Luxury
properties offering an exceptionally high degree of service and
hospitality.
Travelocity’s second system of
evaluations uses smiley faces (one to five, including half-faces),
based on how guests rate their overall experience. There are no
specific criteria, says Jeff Varhol, the company’s director of
descriptive and visual content; one smiley face is a bad impression
of a property, and five means guests found it outstanding. The
presence of meeting facilities is noted, and ratings can be
searched by specific categories such as business travel.
Expedia
www.Expedia.com/
traveleropinions
The venerable Bellevue, Wash.-based
Expedia, which dates back to the very dawn of the web, in 1994, is
another popular travel site that offers a double-barrel ratings
system.
One part is the traveler opinion
program, with reviews based on customers’ experience. Like
TripAdvisor (a sister company), Expedia allows hotels to respond
online to traveler opinions. Hotels get a grade of one to five
based on customer’s views on cleanliness, service and comfort.
For its other ratings, Expedia uses a
proprietary system of full and half-stars resulting in nine
classifications. (Sister hotel travel site Hotels.com also uses
Expedia’s star system.) Elements considered include items such as
quality of hard and soft goods, guest service, amenities,
aesthetics and decor. Under Expedia’s system:
* One star is assigned
to no-frills motels, hostels and dormitories. An extra half star is
assigned to features such as 24-hour reception, daily housekeeping
and private bathrooms.
* Two stars go to
budget properties that offer clean accommodations, 24-hour
reception and on-site dining (typically limited to continental
breakfast). An extra half-star is given to limited-service, often
all-suite, economy properties lacking amenities such as a
restaurant or bell staff.
* Three stars are
awarded to limited-service properties that offer features such as
an on-site restaurant and bar and baggage assistance; guest rooms
offer more space, comfortable seating and better quality bedding.
An extra half-star signifies multiple restaurants, a uniformed bell
staff, enhanced lobbies, guest rooms with large and comfortable
workstations, and, often, limited spa facilities.
* Four-star hotels
offer upscale decor, a dedicated concierge, valet parking and
24-hour room service. Guest rooms feature superior amenities such
as minibars, pillow-top mattresses, bathrobes and upscale bath
products. Add a half-star for lobbies bedecked with fresh flowers,
original art and luxurious furnishings; fine-dining restaurants;
24-hour room service and automatic turndown service.
* Five-star amenities
include gourmet dining, luxury spas, in-room welcome amenities,
polished staff, and butler service on all or select floors.
Putting it all
together
How can meeting planners get the most
out of the variety of rating systems available today? Some industry
experts recommend taking several different ratings into
consideration before selecting a property. The site-selection team
at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based HelmsBriscoe uses up to four ratings
sources, according to the Jason Johnson, HelmsBriscoe’s vice
president of corporate development.
Michael Hudson, president of Site,
Search & Select, a New York City-based site-selection firm,
uses ratings only when researching properties outside the United
States, and then he relies on a combination of that country’s own
designated rating (if available) and Star Service Online’s
reviews.
“The various rating systems available
are for transient travel,” notes Roger Dow, president and CEO of
the Travel Industry Association. As such, they do not address
criteria planners care about, such as A/V capability and how hotel
staff reacts to challenges.
“The best rating systems for planners
are other planners who have already used properties,” Dow says.
