Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away… a series of star ratings caused lots of confusion. That is how people are likely to judge today’s hotel star ratings today. There will be no need for a major rebellion, because sooner or later a better system of ratings will come into place to help people understand just what they are paying for.
Of course, the Force is definitely with five-star hotels, because the term is universally recognised as implying the ultimate in luxury and grandeur, with fine food and loads of extras. Even so, some may wonder just what it is, for instance, that denotes five-star accommodation rather than four-star. Indeed, the difference is somewhat nuanced; both can include an excellent setting, a concierge service and room service and restaurant dining. The difference is simply that five-star denotes that very aspect of the service is the best it can be. However, the problems are not as great as some might fear. For example, hotels in the UK do not suffer from competing systems of rating in ways that may be true elsewhere. For instance, the AA ratings system is agreed with travel bodies like Visit Britain, Visit Scotland, Visit Wales and Visit England. This has been agreed since 2006.
Even so, there are other areas that the lay person could be confused about. For example, the difference between a B&B and a guest house may be lost on most people. In fact, the distinction is based on the number of people that can be accommodated, with B&Bs hosting up to six and guest houses taking in higher numbers. Despite these distinctions, the star system is still used across the board. That may be rather unfair. For example, a guest house is, for reasons of scale, never going to have five-star status just because it will not have the resources to provide services like a 24-hour concierge. Therefore, it may be better to have more category-specific ratings systems for each kind of accommodation.
Instead, as it stands, bodies like the AA have star rating systems that run from one to five for each kind of accommodation, from a big plush hotel to a country B&B. Common sense says they cannot possibly mean the same thing. Of course, there are many other forms of accreditation for hotels and guest houses like Online Marketing Strategy. These include certificates like Quality in Tourism and Green Tourism, each with their own gold and silver awards. However, adding kitemarks can achieve no more than giving guests a vague idea that the establishment must be quite good. For those wanting more specifics on why this is so, a few questions may go unanswered.
