What do hotel 'star' ratings really mean? Here's a breakdown

Ever announcement that a azygous edifice tin beryllium rated three, 4 and adjacent 5 stars?

That's the lawsuit with Singapore's iconic Marina Bay Sands, which is rated five stars connected Booking.com, four stars connected Forbes Travel Guide and three stars connected Frommer's.

This is due to the fact that prima ratings are "not regulated successful a accordant mode crossed the industry," said Yngvar Stray, the wide manager of Capella Singapore.

Booking.com said its stars are designated by the hotels themselves. Forbes Travel Guide, however, uses professional, anonymous inspectors who entree "900 nonsubjective stands," according to its website. And to adhd to the confusion, Frommer's website states its prima ratings lone spell from 1 ("recommended") to 3 stars ("exceptional").

The sheer fig of companies that grant stars isn't helping.

Decades ago, fewer companies handed retired stars — oregon diamonds, arsenic the American Automobile Association calls its ratings. But now, countless magazines, guidebooks and websites contented them.

And successful places similar Australia, India and Dubai, hotels are rated by governments and tourism boards. 

Some organizations are surely trying.

The non-profit enactment Hotelstars Union uses communal criteria to unify prima ratings crossed Europe. So far, 20 countries person signed on, and much than 22,000 hotels person been classified.

But Europe's astir fashionable countries to sojourn — France, Spain and Italy — are not among the subordinate countries. Each has its ain standing systems, which are tally by nationalist oregon determination governments.

In the United Kingdom, the AA motoring relation and the tourism committee Visit England grant stars utilizing the aforesaid criteria. They besides show their ratings connected 1 website (RatedTrips.com). 

A task called "World Hotel Rating" was meant to standardize edifice ratings astir the world. But that was much than a decennary ago, and thing has materialized yet. 

World Hotel Rating did not respond to CNBC requests for comment.

They do, according to Tim Hentschel, CEO of the question exertion institution HotelPlanner.

"We really find prima ratings are rather invaluable to our customers," helium said. "When you spell successful to prime your [hotel] dates … typically the archetypal filter acceptable is the prima rating."

Star ratings are besides adjuvant to acceptable traveler expectations regarding a hotel's prime and price, said Hentschel.  

"Somebody has to specify what these expectations are," helium said. "Then the customers' relation successful this each is past to usage their dependable and reviews to accidental [whether hotels] are gathering these expectations."

In a global survey of much than 23,000 Tripadvisor users, 86% said online reviews made them consciousness much assured to book. Users work an mean of 9 reviews earlier making a decision, saying caller reviews substance to them the most.

Though it's been argued that online reviews person replaced prima ratings successful the property of the internet, Hentschel said they complement each other.

"Reviews are the cookware of golden down the prima rating, and each online question bureau publishes both," helium said.

Stray added that savvy travelers besides crook to readers' prime awards, similar those published by Conde Nast Traveler oregon Travel + Leisure.

"There are different ways contiguous radical find what makes a large hotel," helium said. 

And what astir Dubai's Burj Al Arab — and different hotels that person been dubbed "six-star" oregon adjacent "seven-star" hotels?

It's absurd, said Hentschel.

"To determination up an full star," helium said, "you'd person to enactment a spot connected the moon, you'd person to enactment a spot underwater, thing that has ne'er truly been done before."

Hentschel said five-star hotels are "rare" and "unique successful each way," with amenities specified arsenic luxury bedding, over-sized marble bathrooms constructed with granite and marble, and archetypal artwork.  

Most person "butler service, valet parking, gourmet restaurants, lavish spas, afloat work wellness clubs and idiosyncratic trainers," helium said. "Heated pools, positive play courses oregon tennis centers whitethorn beryllium connected [the] property."

Capella Singapore's Stray said a five-star edifice is defined by 3 chiseled characteristics.

"If you privation to beryllium a true, high-end luxury five-star hotel, your carnal merchandise needs to beryllium immaculate," helium said. "It cannot beryllium a cooky cutter hotel."

But that's not all. "You don't triumph by that," said Stray. "But if you don't person it, you're not successful play."

Secondly, a existent five-star edifice indispensable employment radical who recognize that "everything revolves astir the guest," helium said.  

"It's not casual to enactment successful a luxury hotel. It's overmuch easier to enactment successful a much streamlined edifice due to the fact that we request truthful overmuch more," said Stray. "It's astir the aged concierge's benignant of code, which is 'The reply is yes' … arsenic agelong arsenic it's ineligible and morally correct."

Lastly, a five-star edifice indispensable scope guests connected an affectional level, helium said.

"There's aggregate aspects that we thrust successful bid to let for guests to person that other feeling that says 'Wow, that was special,'" said Stray. "The affectional transportation is what radical volition remember." 

Soon, determination whitethorn beryllium a 4th requirement.

Five-star hotels successful Dubai indispensable person a written sustainability argumentation that addresses vigor efficiency, h2o conservation and a penchant for local, fair-trade and environmentally affable goods.

"That is really not thing of the aboriginal … it's already successful motion," said Stray. "And it's not needfully due to the fact that a third-party supplier oregon rater says it, it is due to the fact that our guests necessitate it, our nine requires it."