What does the star status of hotels really mean?

The problem of hotel-star inflation, of course, is not global, but nevertheless the assignment of stars to hotels becomes similar to the game of primary classes. All this noise around the "super-star" hotels raises only a few quite reasonable questions: who exactly assigns all these stars? What do they mean? And when will this craziness end? But I would like to receive answers to at least the first two questions. So, here is all you need to know about the hotel star system:

Who makes the ratings?

Many different rating agencies that are considered "official" hotel guides. Of these, the three most respected organizations stand out - AAA, Forbes and Michelin.

AAA

In order to get AAA approval, the hotel must go through a full 33-point control to confirm that at the hotel recommended by some travel agency you won’t earn, for example, ringworm.

After ordinary AAA approval, you can move on to the acclaimed AAA “diamonds”. Their assignment is based on an assessment of 77 different categories with specific parameters set to receive each new of the five possible stars.

For the hotel to receive all the Five Diamonds, the rooms must not only be clean and luxurious, but have a special design, they must include dry cleaning services, 24-hour service, real works of art on the walls and decorated ceilings. For a complete list of requirements, see the 41-page booklet.

To become the owner of at least Three Diamonds, each hotel room, among other things, must be equipped with a TV and a private pool.

Forbes

Each year, Forbes checks about 1,000 hotels, assigning them a rating of 4 or 5 stars according to a rating system of 800 points, covering everything from the hotel to the restaurant and spas. Criteria are derived from a particular algorithm. The result also depends on the verification and evaluation set by the anonymous client.

Michelin

Michelin, whose Red Guide was once the Bible of Travel Hotels, is better known today for its top chefs and restaurants. Therefore, despite the fact that restaurants dream of getting at least one Michelin star, the rating of hotels of this guide is considered far from comprehensive and no more significant than any other tourist guides.

What about stellar internet ratings?

The most famous online guides include TripAdvisor, Expedia and Hotwire. It should be noted that these sites have absolutely no standardized criteria in order to qualify hotels by the number of stars in any reliable way. Therefore, you should not rely on the fact that booking a room, you will get a real idea of what level these apartments are.

What about Europe?

There is an active trans-European organization called HOTREC, founded in 2004 and setting a unified standard for star rating of hotels in 20 European countries. An exception is the United Kingdom, which has its own version of AAA, called AA. The criteria of the European HOTREC are more modest and generalized than the diamond AAA system. A good hotel here can be considered one where you were personally greeted and flowers were placed in the room.

What about 7 and 8 star hotels?

Surely, you have heard of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, which some have dubbed as the world's first 8-star hotel. Who are these "some" you ask? Most online reviewers and bloggers who are very fond of hyperbolization. Therefore, remember that there is no rating in the world - neither Forbes, nor AAA, nor HOTREС, or any other hotel that assigns more than five stars to hotels! All these are just marketing tricks.