Whether you are setting out on a vacation or business trip, you of course want to stay in the best hotels you can find at or near your destination. To do so, you’ll likely be relying not only on the advice of family and friends but also on the star ratings associated with hotels you have under consideration. Since you may be wondering what star ratings actually mean and how hotels upgrade their ratings to attract more customers, here’s all you need to know.
Offer Additional Amenities
For many hotels that want to upgrade their star ratings, they begin by offering more services to their clientele. For example, if a hotel knows it has many customers who use its facilities when on business trips, it will often upgrade its high-speed internet capabilities. In other cases, hotels that are located near tourist destinations and regularly have families staying with them will make themselves more kid or pet-friendly, offering services that make it easier for parents to enjoy their vacation.
Add New Locations
Another way hotels upgrade their star ratings is to build new locations that make them more accessible to a wide array of potential customers. For example, hotels near airports are more and more common, since this makes them easily accessible to business travelers. Also, if a certain area of the world is becoming a more popular spot for travelers, a hotel chain may build a new hotel there to expand its reach.
Emphasize Their History
If a hotel is historic in nature, emphasizing this history can often result in an upgrading of its star rating. For many people who travel, choosing a hotel that has a distinguished past is very important. In fact, historic hotels are often viewed by those staying there as being similar to tourist destinations, since guests always want to tell others that they stayed at a hotel that everyone automatically knows is special in some way.
Work with Ratings Companies and Services
Ultimately, most rating systems are very subjective at best, and the star ratings are no exception. Since most hotels are evaluated at least once every five years on such things as amenities, the comfort of stay, service and other areas, hotels that work closely with ratings companies and services can often upgrade their ratings. By carefully examining evaluations and making recommended changes, a hotel can go from a three-star to four-star or from a four-star to a five-star hotel.
Now that you know the factors that determine the star ratings of hotels, you can be sure the hotel you select for your next trip will be one that offers everything you want and need.
