How nice is nice?

How relevant is a star grading system? Neels van Heerden wonders whether it still considers consumer needs at all.

- Neels van Heerden

Recently, a post on a social media platform caught my attention in which a leading South African hotelier said the current star grading system for hotels has become irrelevant. He believes references by fellow travellers carry far more weight than a certificate on a wall behind a reception desk.

He also believes tourists are better equipped to evaluate hotels than a grading officer who ticks boxes off on a form. His hotel group’s own research indicates that guests increasingly rely on comments and photos on websites.

According to Tripadvisor’s ‘Path to Purchase’ report, 33% of their guests looked around on travel websites before making a reservation, and 74% read the comments on Tripadvisor to decide where they wanted to book.