Stars are mostly used to classify products and services, e.g. hotels and restaurants regarding quality and quantity or a combination of both (Gavilan, Avello, " Martinez-Navarro, 2018, p. 54). Ratings get assigned once a service or product gets assessed and its value correctly determined (Phillips, et al., 2016, p. 238). Stars used in rankings mostly range from 0 to 5 and in hotels and restaurants, a system’s with the category (Claire Hu, for CNN, 2014). Initially, the star rating system was created to set standards and expectations for hotel experiences, e.g. luxury with the primary intention of helping travellers find the right hotel (Friedlander, 2014).
Traditional Star Rating vs TripAdvisor systems work
Initially, before the emergence of rating systems and websites like TripAdvisor, restaurants and hotels were assessed with respect to the facilities, they provided, with them referred as either good or bad. The traditional classification system has had its shortcoming for decades, but regardless many people relied on it because there was nothing else available to communicate the quality and services offered in hotels and restaurants (Gavilan, Avello, " Martinez-Navarro, 2018, p. 54). The internet and the social web has however changed how the system worked as today, many of customers and business travelers are embracing the star rating system and turning their back on traditional classification systems as the online reviews and the social media greatly help them link with just the right kind of restaurant they want, how much they are willing to pay for the hotel with respect to the services they wish to receive (Pascarella, 2009). Unlike the recent rating system, the traditional system did not put into account the other aspects related to tourism, hospitality and events (Pascarella, 2009). For example, sites today rate not only based on the facilities a company offers but also on the services provided in a particular place, the cost and the luxury level enjoyed (Vine, 1981, p. 23).
Every individual aim at getting value for their money and as such when travelling and visiting restaurants and hospitals, many of them try to find the best services possible (Sparks \ Browning, 2011, p. 1311). People mostly rely on other users feedbacks which are primarily found in the user-generated content websites like TripAdvisor Inc. recently, TripAdvisor, recorded an increase in their website a trend that shows that a hotel’s rating no doubt affects consumer booking decisions (Gavilan, Avello, " Martinez-Navarro, 2018, p. 59). Allowing the users to rate the services received in a particular restaurant of the hotel gives the sites the opportunity to collect data based on the overall performance of the hotel or restaurant making it easy to classify them accordingly (Pascarella, 2009). However, Due to the numerous components considered in the process, the star rating system proves to be overly complicated and difficult to understand and as such it is vital that the industry comes up with a unified global system to be used for rating and which will be useful in determining their usability (Rathore, 2016).
Although some travellers do not highly focus on other components such as location and cost instead of star ratings. When searching for a hotel, it is with no doubt that online reputation and star ratings affect the performance and revenue potential of a restaurant (Sparks \ Browning, 2011, p. 1314). For instance, many people still focus on the ratings, especially when visiting hotels outside their country of residence (Öğüt \ Onur Taş, 2012, p. 199). The positive response to people online ratings have seen many people use sites like TripAdvisor, which have become popular over the years because they not only aggregate much of the information desired by the travellers but also help them get all the information in one place (Pascarella, 2009).
TripAdvisor
As mentioned before, one of the most famous rating sites is TripAdvisor Inc. which was founded in February 2000 as a site focused more on information from newspapers and magazines to give information on the hotels and restaurants ("TripAdvisor Etc, The Bottom Line - BBC Radio 4," 2014). Also, the website provided the customers with an opportunity to file their review, and after some time the number of users surpassed the number of professional reviews which then saw the founders change their initial idea of using professional ratings to user-generated ones ("TripAdvisor Etc, The Bottom Line - BBC Radio 4," 2014). Today, the site is a travel and restaurant website company that provides hotels and restaurants travel-related content including ratings, accommodation bookings and travel forums (Friedlander, 2014). The site is free to every use and in turn, uses the content generated by the users to give their scores. It is also supported by an advising business model and hotel booking facility.
Pros and Cons of the traditional and TripAdvisor rating systems
From both a business and a consumers’ perspective. The ratings by TripAdvisor are particularly crucial to the customers as it draws them concise and succinct information and the restaurant and hotel owners, it acts as a marketing tool, allowing them to market their products efficiently (Öğüt \ Cezara, 2012, p. 980). For instance, if the star rating of a hotel moves from 3 to 4, then it becomes easy for them to increase the revenue for each room as the classification will communicate their properties quality (Claire Hu, for CNN, 2014).
TripAdvisor mainly works in a way where they rank a property based on the user feedback ("TripAdvisor Network Effect and the Benefits of Total Engagement | TripAdvisor Insights," 2018). They consistently collect new data from time to time to make sure that they correctly reflect the level of service and the value to meet their expectations and it, therefore, gives a business the best opportunity to small operators to improve their position over time and also allow the large operates maintain their place in the industry (Pascarella, 2009). Because TripAdvisor ranks based on popularity, it also facilitates competition between companies as it takes into account a business performance in connection with the performance of other businesses in the area (Gavilan, Avello, " Martinez-Navarro, 2018, p. 56). For example, when one restaurant moves up the ranking, it may influence others to work harder it makes sure that they stay relevant in the industry ("TripAdvisor Network Effect and the Benefits of Total Engagement | TripAdvisor Insights," 2018). Apart from giving ratings TripAdvisor also offers other services and tools like review collection tools to both small and large operations which they consistently use to measure their performance and see how they can adjust their systems an make improvements based on the feedback they get from their customers ("TripAdvisor Network Effect and the Benefits of Total Engagement | TripAdvisor Insights," 2018).
Conclusion
In sum, it is clear that the internet and the emergence of social media, as well as other user review platforms, has hugely affected the way tourism, hospitality, and event industries operate and how they relate with their customers. The changes have seen the customers change their choices and experiences. In sum, it is clear that the star rating system is seen to maintain its relevance as it holds more benefits to both the consumer and the hotel and restaurant owners. Although the limited understanding of the different star categories, brings about inconsistency and confusion I still think that the star classification system has more and more connected with how individuals and business travellers evaluate and value hotels.
References
Claire Hu, for CNN. (2014, May 6). Hotel star rating: What exactly do they mean? | CNN Travel. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/hotel-star-ratings/index.html
Friedlander, R. J. (2014, May 20). Are star ratings and other hotel industry classifications still relevant? Retrieved from https://www.tnooz.com/article/hotel-star-ratings-still-relevant/
Gavilan, D., Avello, M., " Martinez-Navarro, G. (2018). The influence of online ratings and reviews on hotel booking consideration. Tourism Management, 66, 53-61. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2017.10.018
Pascarella, S. (2009, 9). What Do Hotel Star Ratings Really Mean? - SmarterTravel. Retrieved from https://www.smartertravel.com/2009/07/09/hotel-star-ratings-what-do-they-mean/
Phillips, P., Barnes, S., Zigan, K., " Schegg, R. (2016). Understanding the Impact of Online Reviews on Hotel Performance. Journal of Travel Research, 56(2), 235-249. doi:10.1177/0047287516636481
Rathore, N. (2016, July 11). HOW DO ONLINE TRAVELLER REVIEWS AFFECT HOTEL BOOKINGS. Retrieved from https://repup.co/online-traveller-reviews-affect-hotel-bookings/
Sparks, B. A., " Browning, V. (2011). The impact of online reviews on hotel booking intentions and perception of trust. Tourism Management, 32(6), 1310-1323. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2010.12.011
TripAdvisor Etc, The Bottom Line - BBC Radio 4. (2014, October 16). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04l3cmq
TripAdvisor Network Effect and the Benefits of Total Engagement | TripAdvisor Insights. (2018, January 27). Retrieved from https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/w828
Vine, P. (1981). Hotel classification — art or science? International Journal of Tourism Management, 2(1), 18-29.
Öğüta, H., " Cezara, A. (2012). The Factors Affecting Writing Reviews in Hotel Websites. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58, 980-986. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.1077
Öğüt, H., " Onur Taş, B. K. (2012). The influence of internet customer reviews on the online sales and prices in hotel industry. The Service Industries Journal, 32(2), 197-214. doi:10.1080/02642069.2010.529436
