What should we believe stronger from Stars or Reviews, when looking at hotel ratings?

HospiBuz Desk 

For many of us, we tend to research online before booking our trips to our fantasy holiday destinations according to TripAdvisor’s Path to Purchase report:

33% of people around the world look on travel sites, 74% of hotel purchasers check TripAdvisor
But within the hospitality world, how important are these star ratings? This question must be considered as so many of us read and check online reviews. But, what do people value more, the star ratings or real guest experiences? We explore in this article, what the star standard is for the hotel industry to find out if guests can still assemble important information from it.

What are star ratings?

Historically, a hotel star rating was the go-to check for any traveller seeking to book a room. The star system used to be quite simple and, without the digital word of mouth, really the only information guests had to go on.

However, these days the traditional 5-star rating system has been replaced with another system that offers hotels from 5 stars to 10-star ratings. Plus, many have noted that a four-star hotel in Mumbai does not feel the same as four-star hotels in Canda, guests who stay in two hotels with the same rating system are likely to receive similar amenities and services. Similar doesn’t necessarily equate to the same quality but rather refer to the same level of features. Ratings are quite subjective and can depend on the culture of a particular country. This is down to the fact that there is no global star rating system.

Several rating bodies and companies have made an effort to standardise the ratings by evaluating hotels every five years to enhance or downgrade their star ratings. Excellent service, updated amenities, and a comfortable stay are the key aspects that are being evaluated relative to the achievement of a particular rating. Different evaluating bodies use a variety of rating schemes. Many systems, such as that launched by Forbes Travel Guide in 1958, use a standard involving a star rating. Other evaluating companies use diamonds rather of stars to rate hotel and restaurant services. In recent years, however, the rating systems have been criticised due to the overly complex and intricate scoring mechanics that a layperson would likely be unable to comprehend. The lack of a unified global scoring system for evaluating hotels also weakens the credibility of this scheme.

The issues with Star Ratings

One major problem with stars is that there isn’t a global star standard. Different countries run their different systems, with some having multiple different boards having their own star systems. Some hotels might even give their property their own ‘unofficial’ star rating. Then, there’s the matter of tour operators running their own star rating system, which can make four-star hotel looks like five-star hotels to unsuspecting bookers

The rise of trust in reviews.

As the digital world develops, it’s no surprise that more people are turning to review websites before booking a room. Plus, it seems there is an increasing level of trust in those online reviews and ratings. Noted that while 95% of internet users at the time relied on online research as part of their travel information search process, few were actively trusting them as a primary means of gauging a hotel’s quality. This was deemed to be because itis not always easy to identify and access the profile of people who post information on blogs and other social networking sites, so the reader cannot easily assess the credibility of the information provided.

In Future.. the public has become extremely dependable of what we see online, with a reported 84% of people placing online reviews on the same level of trust as a recommendation from a friend. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, one of the main ways potential guests scout out hotels is to look on TripAdvisor, meaning they are placing a lot of importance in the ratings there compared to the star-rating of a hotel.