Hotel rating

Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experience as a whole. The terms "grading", "rating", and "classification" are used to generally refer to the same concept.

There is a wide variety of rating schemes used by different organizations around the world. Many have a system involving stars, with a greater number of stars indicating greater luxury. Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, launched its star rating system in 1958. The American Automobile Association (AAA) and their affiliated bodies use diamonds instead of stars to express hotel and restaurant rating levels.

Traditional systems focus on what goods and services are available, including food services, entertainment, view, spas and fitness centers. Room size, ease of access, and location may be also be considered, and some standards also incorporate quality of design and service. Some consider assessments that lean heavily on amenities disadvantageous to smaller hotels, whose quality of accommodation could fall into one class but whose lack of an item such as an elevator or a spa prevent it from reaching a higher categorization.