An exploration into the evolution of the Five-Star Hotel Rating System
Next time you fill up your car at the bowser, spare a thought for the men and women who pioneered the hotel star system almost 65 years ago. That system – deeply flawed through bias and inconsistency - literally influences the way millions of people decide on which accommodation option to choose.
The system was created in the US by Mobil (now Exxon Mobil), not by the hospitality world as one would imagine. Mobil employees who were travelling the country to service their gas stations and extraction sites, started using a five-star system to rate hotels and make travel guides. The five-star system grew quickly, but it was unregulated. Today, nothing has changed.
What did change was the modus operandi of the Mobil Travel Guides (eventually paid, anonymous reviewers visited properties to rate them rather than company staff) and its ownership. In 2009, the company rebranded the product and an international media company began publishing them as Forbes Travel Guides. The guides are now available online.
While the Mobil guides may have been the first, there are now many organisations vying to be regarded as the industry authority.
In the US, the hotel star rating system is based on popular opinion. In Europe, their hotel rating system is determined by independent organisations, and local and government agencies. However, the system varies from nation to nation and city to city, and even hotels situated in the same city. In other words, there is no standardised method that decides the star rating of a hotel.
To make matters more confusing, three stars in England is not necessarily the same as three stars in Spain. Even worse, three stars in Barcelona is not the same as three stars in Madrid or in Seville as each region adopts its own standards.
What Does Each Level of Hotel Stars Actually Mean?
There’s no straightforward answer to defining each star rating explicitly. The US and other countries use completely different approaches to assigning stars; the problem is further compounded by each individual rating system’s definition of “quality.”
That said, there are some general guidelines consumers and property managers should understand. First, hotel star systems measure the quality of property’s facilities: not the experience. This is critical for property managers to understand. As great as your front desk service may be, a cheerful greeting at check-in won’t change your star rating. Hotels with more stars have more facilities, such as large rooms, swimming pools, jacuzzis, and bathtubs.
Each star rating will vary depending on who is doing the rating. Some countries are more prescriptive than others; likewise, different online travel agencies (OTAs) will have different criteria for what qualifies for a certain star rating. There are some generalities that hotel owners can use to measure their relative position:
⭐ONE STAR: Basic accommodation, small rooms; these properties do not guarantee ensuite bathrooms, 24-hour reception, or daily cleaning. Think hostels or backpacker motel rooms.
⭐⭐TWO STARS: Often, two-star hotels are in old buildings that can’t be renovated. These properties are a step up from one-star spots in that they probably offer a 24-hour reception, cleaning, and a basic ensuite bathroom. Amenities are still limited, but you might get a continental breakfast and a room with a phone and TV.
⭐⭐⭐THREE STARS: A typical hotel will have three stars and offer room service, ensuite bathrooms, daily cleaning, a desk or table, and Wifi. This is a standard hotel experience that most travellers expect unless they’re on a strict budget.
⭐⭐⭐⭐FOUR STARS: These hotels offer an on-site swimming pool, gym, bar/restaurant, or valet parking. They have nicer rooms and larger lobbies. Fast internet is standard.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐FIVE STARS: High-end, luxury hotels get five stars. There will be a nice bar and restaurant on-site, as well as a spa, gym, big bathrooms, and comfortable beds.
Amenities and facilities take a starring role (no pun intended) in achieving a higher rating. But it’s also important to recognize some of the nuances built into OTA star ratings and the differences between countries to best assess where to spend your budget.
Hotel Stars Mean Different Things Depending on Who You Ask
Countries all have different approaches to how a hotel earns its star rating. Even within a country, ratings can vary by city or regional regulations.
In France, the US, Germany, and the United Kingdom, how a hotel is classified is voluntary. France, for instance, allows private organizations to provide a star rating (authorised by Cofrac, the French Accreditation Committee). Other European countries, including Germany, use the HotelStars Union, which is a trade association for hotels and restaurants.
The US uses AAA and Forbes Stars. But, in Italy, Spain, and Greece, the responsibility for providing a star rating falls to regional governments. Each region within Spain, for instance, will pass legislation that precisely describes the characteristics and minimum requirements each hotel must have to earn that level of stars. Public inspectors visit each property to make sure the hotel is complying with the rules assigned to each category.
Travellers are rarely cognisant of the difference between a star rating assigned by a government inspector, one by a trade organization, or one assigned by fellow travellers on an OTA. Even among OTAs, there’s a distinct difference in how stars are assigned. By way of example, there is no unanimity between many of the popular OTAs like Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz and TripAdvisor, or the so-called ‘bibles’ of the industry, Michelin, Forbes, and AAA.
Michelin previously served as a reliable benchmark for discerning travellers, but the brand has since narrowed its focus to restaurants and bars. Their infamous three-star rating system is now managed by a partner called Tablet.
Forbes offers a subscription-based guide that grew directly from the original Mobil travel ratings. The team uses a checklist of 800 items to determine its star rating; they mostly focus on four and five-star properties, meaning they seek to verify luxury rather than to provide an objective review.
AAA doesn’t limit their ratings to upscale properties, but they do use a 33-point checklist, similar to Forbes’ approach. Pre-approved properties are evaluated based on member feedback and full-time, professional evaluators. Instead of using stars, AAA rewards “diamonds”; a three-diamond property must offer televisions in every room and a swimming pool, for instance.
Clearly, each platform factors different elements into their rating system. Some include guest experience metrics, such as customer service (Hotels.com) while others stay focused on amenities (Expedia). A strategy that tries to earn your property five stars on one platform may still have you falling short on another.
Tech Won’t Earn Your Hotel Stars But It Certainly Helps
Hotels are well advised to focus on providing great amenities, awesome customer service, and keeping their property up-to-date. Technology can’t directly earn them more stars from a rating agency, but it can impact their guest experience – and at the end of the day, that’s what matters in many of the online reviews.
Bottom Line
Having survived COVID-19, the pandemic that came close to killing off the tourism industry, hotels are in no mood to chance their business on unreliable and often suspect reviews by people who are learning that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. So the intending guest should not be unduly swayed by professionally-designed websites and potentially faux reviews. Nor should they allow citizen reviewers to influence them because they didn’t like the toilet paper or the receptionist who didn’t attend to them in a timely manner.
It all comes down to caveat emptor - buyer beware. No matter how much searching online you do, the only truly reliable indicator of a hotel’s ‘worth’ and ‘value’ is through word-of-mouth of people you KNOW and TRUST. Failing that, your decision is in the lap of the gods.
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