As children, we all longed for that 'star' our teacher gave us if we excelled at an assignment. There were other forms too. Tortoises, hearts and birds were also scribbled at the end of our essays with a 'very good' attached to the drawing! But as we grew-up, the drawings changed to scores, scores to grades and grades turned into medals and certificates that lauded our proficiency in a particular field.
Similarly, the 'star-rating' system is an age old scheme that recognizes the services and quality of the hotel industry. However, a new study by Quo Asia states that the hotel-rating system has become obsolete. Calling it an 'anachronism', the brand and communications publication claims that the ratings do not effectively 'reflect the needs of today's traveler'.
A Short Introduction
As we all know, stars means recognition for a hotel. Higher the number of stars, better is the quality and amenities. It is also a luxury indicator. A five-star hotel is more luxurious than a three-star one. Expenses also increase with the number of stars. Associations and experts use several measures to rate a hotel. Basically, Food services, view, entertainment, spas and fitness centers, room variations like size and additional amenities, ease of access and location could be major parameters for establishing a standard.
The Study
The study was based on the hotel industry of Asia and analyzed 15 countries and territories in the continent. It highlighted the major pitfalls of the current rating system, from a consumer's perspective. Enlin Zhou, brand strategist at QUO is the author of the study.
According to the paper, the official ratings not only confuse the customer but are also inconsistent across countries. It does not consider guest experience. They are predominantly customized to focus on hardware facilities and allow certain inequalities despite most hotels missing out on certain set standards.
The research found that most of the tourists have traded official ratings for social media, customer travel forums and of course, personal recommendations. However, the data sourced from websites like Tripadvisor.com, Agoda.com and Booking.com also showed disparities in the rating system.
"Travelers need to be able to rely on a system that is objectively measuring criteria in the same way across the world. The star-system does not do that. That's why social media has replaced the ratings and is critical to most consumer choices," David Keen, CEO of QUO said in the study.
The study also stressed that the hospitality industry needs to adapt to today's travellers with a more consumer-friendly language and approach such as optimizing advertising in electronic media, simplifying booking and showing the customers exactly what they need to see and what they need.
Experts Speak
"The classification system needs to be reviewed and updated more often, to capture the new trends, and to incorporate the feedback from the industry," Mark Dardenne, CEO of Patina Hotels & Resorts said to QUO.
"The rating needs to mirror the global perspective. Kevin Beauvais," Co-founder & CEO of Zinc InVision Hospitality added.
"I think a rating system based on ADR works best. It's consumer-driven, reflecting how much people are willing to pay for the product and service, providing a clear gauge of a hotel's perceived quality as ranked by its achieved price," Robert Hecker, Managing Director at Horwath HTL Asia Pacific opined.
Conclusion
Just like the classroom 'stars or hearts' won't compensate for a research paper today, the rating system has also become out-dated. The study concludes with tips and advice for hotels across the board. It states that the industry knows its position and is aware that the current system needs change.
And the first step to change is realization. Read the full study, here. You can also find the extract of the study, here.
The Global Hotel Industry
According to a 2013 outlook by Ernst &Young, the global economic crisis including the slowdown in Asia, the conflict in the Middle East, the debt crisis in Europe and the influence of economic and political events in the U.S. and other parts of the world have had a minimal effect on the hotel industry. The sector had experienced rising demand and improved lodging fundamentals in 2012 and the trend continued in 2013 as well.
The outlook reads:
The outlook for 2013 is one of cautious optimism amid the European economic uncertainty, decelerated growth in Asia and slowed growth in many emerging markets.Nine Lodging markets across the globe continue to face constant economic, political and technological change. Yet even in volatile environments, signs of growth and strengthening lodging fundamentals are present, positioning the global lodging sector for imminent and sustainable recovery going forward.
