The advent of the internet has no doubt brought efficiencies to the retail market place. Consumers have no doubt benefited from how the internet works, how information is disseminated and how quickly they can compare prices for comparable products ensuring, in large part, that large differences in price offerings for the same products are negligible. That being said the flip side is that information found on the internet has no real way of certifying if the information is accurate or standardized. This is most glaringly obvious when it comes to hotel rating systems.
Years before the internet became the place to find information only a handful of names in the industry stood out as the "word" trusted to provide ratings and reviews for hotels and accommodations. These include AAA (the Automobile Association of America), Zagat's Travel Guide and other guides such as Frommers and Fodor's. For anyone that is even slightly familiar with the internet can attest that the number today is in the 100's. The issue is who do you trust and what can you do to ensure you get the most of the ratings you use.
First and foremost we at Travel Ape are firm believers in the criteria and review system utilized by AAA. Another veteran group that provides the Mobil Travel Guide is a close second. Reason being, these companies/groups have inspectors that take their time and administer an excruciating level of detailed analysis on each and every hotel they review. They measure televisions in hotel rooms, inspect bathrooms, test concierge service and do so much more. Further, AAA for example only awards the very top award, which is called the Five Diamonds designation, to only five hotels world wide. So it's not even so much that hotels offer a level of service, the rating system is also done on a comparable level across the industry.
So if you're looking for ratings use the AAA guide to ratings as the gold standard and make your decisions from there.
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