Ever discover {that a} single resort may be rated three, 4 and even 5 stars?
That’s the case with Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands, which is rated 5 stars on Booking.com, 4 stars on Forbes Travel Guide and three stars on Frommer’s.
This is as a result of star scores are “not regulated in a consistent way across the industry,” mentioned Yngvar Stray, the final supervisor of Capella Singapore.
Booking.com mentioned its stars are designated by the inns themselves. Forbes Travel Guide, nevertheless, makes use of skilled, nameless inspectors who entry “900 objective stands,” in accordance with its web site. And so as to add to the confusion, Frommer’s web site states its star scores solely go from one (“recommended”) to a few stars (“exceptional”).
The sheer variety of corporations that award stars is not serving to.
Decades in the past, few corporations handed out stars — or diamonds, because the American Automobile Association calls its scores. But now, numerous magazines, guidebooks and web sites challenge them.
And in locations like Australia, India and Dubai, inns are rated by governments and tourism boards.
Can the celebrities be aligned?
Some organizations are actually attempting.
The non-profit group Hotelstars Union makes use of frequent standards to unify star scores throughout Europe. So far, 20 nations have signed on, and greater than 22,000 inns have been categorized.
But Europe’s hottest nations to go to — France, Spain and Italy — aren’t among the many member nations. Each has its personal score methods, that are run by nationwide or regional governments.
Yngvar Stray, the final supervisor of Capella Singapore.
Source: Capella Singapore
In the United Kingdom, the AA motoring affiliation and the tourism board Visit England award stars utilizing the identical standards. They additionally show their scores on one web site (RatedTrips.com).
A undertaking known as “World Hotel Rating” was meant to standardize resort scores world wide. But that was greater than a decade in the past, and nothing has materialized but.
World Hotel Rating didn’t reply to CNBC requests for remark.
Do resort stars nonetheless matter?
They do, in accordance with Tim Hentschel, CEO of the journey expertise firm HotelPlanner.
“We actually find star ratings are quite valuable to our customers,” he mentioned. “When you go in to pick your [hotel] dates … typically the first filter set is the star rating.”
Suites at The Langham London include entry to The Langham Club, which grants perks like personal check-ins, urgent providers and all-day meals and drinks.
Source: The Langham London
Star scores are additionally useful to set traveler expectations relating to a resort’s high quality and value, mentioned Hentschel.
“Somebody has to define what these expectations are,” he mentioned. “Then the customers’ role in this all is then to use their voice and reviews to say [whether hotels] are meeting these expectations.”
In a international survey of greater than 23,000 Tripadvisor customers, 86% mentioned on-line critiques made them really feel extra assured to guide. Users learn a mean of 9 critiques earlier than making a call, saying current critiques matter to them essentially the most.
Though it has been argued that on-line critiques have changed star scores within the age of the web, Hentschel mentioned they complement one another.
“Reviews are the pot of gold behind the star rating, and every online travel agency publishes both,” he mentioned.
Stray added that savvy vacationers additionally flip to readers’ alternative awards, like these revealed by Conde Nast Traveler or Travel + Leisure.
“There are other ways today people determine what makes a great hotel,” he mentioned.
What do star scores imply?
CNBC Travel reviewed quite a few star scores and located many have standards much like this:
And what about Dubai’s Burj Al Arab — and different inns which were dubbed “six-star” and even “seven-star” inns?
It’s absurd, mentioned Hentschel.
“To move up an entire star,” he mentioned, “you’d have to put a property on the moon, you’d have to put a property underwater, something that has never really been done before.”
How to discover a “true” five-star resort
Hentschel mentioned five-star inns are “rare” and “unique in every way,” with facilities comparable to luxurious bedding, over-sized marble bogs constructed with granite and marble, and unique paintings.
Most have “butler service, valet parking, gourmet restaurants, lavish spas, full service health clubs and personal trainers,” he mentioned. “Heated pools, plus golf courses or tennis centers may be on [the] property.”
Media, not the inns themselves, typically label inns like Burj Al Arab as “six-star” or “seven-star” inns.
Waitforlight | Moment | Getty Images
Capella Singapore’s Stray mentioned a five-star resort is outlined by three distinct traits.
“If you want to be a true, high-end luxury five-star hotel, your physical product needs to be immaculate,” he mentioned. “It cannot be a cookie cutter hotel.”
But that is not all. “You don’t win by that,” mentioned Stray. “But if you don’t have it, you’re not in play.”
Secondly, a real five-star resort should make use of individuals who perceive that “everything revolves around the guest,” he mentioned.
“It’s not easy to work in a luxury hotel. It’s much easier to work in a more streamlined hotel because we demand so much more,” mentioned Stray. “It’s about the old concierge’s kind of code, which is ‘The answer is yes’ … as long as it’s legal and morally correct.”
Capella Singapore is one among solely three inns in Singapore to be awarded 5 stars by the Forbes Travel Guide.
Source: Capella Singapore
Lastly, a five-star resort should attain company on a emotional degree, he mentioned.
“There’s multiple aspects that we drive in order to allow for guests to have that extra feeling that says ‘Wow, that was special,'” mentioned Stray. “The emotional connection is what people will remember.”
Soon, there could also be a fourth requirement.
Five-star inns in Dubai will need to have a written sustainability coverage that addresses vitality effectivity, water conservation and a choice for native, fair-trade and environmentally pleasant items.
“That is actually not something of the future … it’s already in motion,” mentioned Stray. “And it’s not necessarily because a third-party provider or rater says it, it is because our guests require it, our society requires it.”