Hotel stars fall as Brits turn to the web
Jun 19, 07 | 1:57 am
Consumers are ditching hotel star ratings in favour of Internet reviews as a method of getting a fair reflection of their accommodation, according to a survey.
Six out of ten people still rely on the traditional guide to hotel quality but almost as many (58 per 
cent) now turn to independent online reviews.
The results of the research by architects Woods Bagot marked a shift from the commonly held view that younger people are more likely to source information from the web.
Two thirds (65 per cent) of people aged between 35 and 54 were more inclined to check traveller comments about accommodation on websites like tripadvisor.com.
18- to 35-year-olds, however, relied more on star ratings instead of online peer reviews.
The growing popularity of such sites is being recognised by hotel owners across the UK, with many now setting up websites and inviting their guests to comment or even, in some cases, planting reviews.
Rob Steul, head designer for Woods Bagot, said: "What this seems to suggest is that travellers with more experience have realised the massive inconsistencies in the star rating system across Europe and the world.
"Once you've stayed at a hotel that is both inferior and more expensive than a previous hotel at the same rating, you lose faith in the rating's ability to assure quality.
"The real issue is 'star inflation' - hotels and sometimes even countries hype their own self-proclaimed star ratings."
YouGov interviewed 5,000 travellers of all ages and social groups from across the UK last month for the Woods Bagot survey.
Source: MSN
COMMENTS FROM David McMillan Consulting
How totally old fashioned for anyone to expect that a Star Rating system can be written in cement when the system itself is designed to rate so many fluctuating experiences on such a wide range of products which range,
- From the finest banquet for the owner to a single 6AM breakfast order in Room Service.
- From the smallest ramshackle hotel on a magnificent talcum powder beach to the monstrous luxury resort on a rough stretch of sand with dried seaweed.
- From the 3 Star Michelin restaurant in a small inn to the lacksadaisical hotel dining room in a trophy hotel.
- From the best but dusty hotel in Djibouti with English Breakfasts, ceiling fans, 10 ounce room keys and 1 ounce bars of soap but no towels to the worst hotel in Paris' 8eme arrondissement with 350 thread count sheets, multilingual porters and exquisite buttery croissants for breakfast.
- From the best 2 bedroom suite overlooking the city to the worst room behind the elevator over the service entrance.
- From the most hospitable, cheery, knowlegable room attendant to the new trainee that started this morning who is linguistically challenged.
- Does it allow for Monday mornings, hangovers and traffic jams or is it just sunny days and holidays?
- Is 'hotel quality' the physical bricks and mortar, its past history, its employees or a numerical average of all?
- Is it perhaps a Marketing promise or the Owner's wish?
- Is the Star rating a snapshot in time or a slow motion test result?
- Are countries expected to acknowledge that there is no such thing as 4 and 5 Star hotels in their country?
- Are upscale hotel groups expected to admit they have 2 and 3 Star rooms in their trophy hotels?
It is my belief that the Star rating system must remain fluid, national, market driven and responsive to each generation, whatever their preference. There are too many variables to commit the manual to a static system and 'heaven forbid' the day when special interest groups try to introduce a global Star Classification system.
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