26th January 2011
One of our
w/c 24th January articles covered the news on how the government plans to pull its affiliation from the star rating system, possibly handing it over to VisitEngland, who are rumored to dismiss, modernize or streamline the scheme. However
BigHospitality news quotes Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive at the British Hospitality Association (BHA) saying: "It's not a question of abolishing the star system. The question is the use of government funding."
They are looking at the star rating being complemented by a more cost effective structure and believe that online reviews, with specific mention to TripAdvisor, might be the way forward. Judging from
previous articles on TripAdvisor this will not be music to the hospitality industry's ears. When the new Tourism Strategy comes out at the end of February we will find out more. In the mean time all we know is, should the proposal press ahead, at least hotels will be able to choose a ratings system to use, rather than being told to sign up to a particular one.
We posed the following question on Facebook and Twitter: What do you prefer as your hotel rating system? Stars or online reviews?
Here are some interesting responses we received via
Twitter and
Facebook .
MyCotswoldfood James Benson: @
mysterydining Stars. Just one hater can kill a hotel/ B&B's rating & business in online reviews - so unfair.
HotelierUK B.Danielsen: Both, but need the independent voice still! RT @
mysterydining: What do you prefer? Stars or online reviews?
http://fb.me/Q6cP0X5I
Brian K on Facebook: l still go for stars, because a review is a personal opinion and are not done professionally at times which could potentially be harmful to these hotels.
We are keen to hear from you, what is your take on this and if you prefer online reviews which platform would be your favorite?
