Quality in Tourism - What does a star rating mean?

Star ratings for accommodation providers are awarded by Quality in Tourism (QIT), Visit-England's "official inspection body" or by the AA. Participating businesses pay an annual fee in order to take part in the scheme, which involves a yearly visit from one of their professional inspectors who work objectively within clear guidelines.

There are many different categories for inspection by QIT and AA
(See www.qualityintourism.com ). Most members of Rothbury and Coquetdale Tourism Association, covering central Northumberland, are inspected and come under either Guest Accommodation or Self Catering.

Under "Self catering", Cottages/Houses/Apartments are star rated from 1-5 plus Gold + Silver Awards.

Limitations

• The given star rating and awards can only reflect the Inspector's views and experiences on the day of his visit.
  QIT's own website quotes:
  "In theory the star rating does assure quality and we expect quality not to change dramatically from one year to the next but as the grading is a snapshot in time it is feasible for quality to go both up and down". (See:http://www.qualityintourism.com/content/pdfs/Complaints%20Factsheet.pdf ):
• The inspection is "artificial". Proprietors may make special efforts for that occasion.
  In turn, the Inspector is business-like; he is in a working situation. He visits the establishment for a few hours and his views do not necessarily accord with those of visitors coming to enjoy a long, relaxing holiday.
• Previously rated cottages can continue to display an outdated grading whilst having lapsed from the Inspection Scheme.
• The Visit-England Scheme is expensive to use - many good properties are not inspected due to the high costs involved.
  

TripAdvisor is a relatively recent and increasingly popular way to choose a holiday cottage. Effectively, TripAdvisor provides a "daily inspection" using the experiences of previous guests to rate a property 1 - 5 and then give more detail of particular strengths and weaknesses - in their view.

Though Trip Advisor reviews are based on the one-off experience of a non-professional, the reviewer has inevitably stayed longer than the professional Inspector and had a fuller sample.

Every new rating contributes to the overall average attributed to the property. Multiple reviews by different visitors build up an overview of all-year round standards in our Northumberland holiday cottages.
At best, TripAdvisor reviews can be useful both for guests choosing cottage accommodation for their holiday and for owners seeking to improve their product.

• TripAdvisor reviews can be falsified either way.
• TripAdvisor guest reviews are not professional and are subject to individual outlook/preferences/circumstances and mood at the time.
• Advertising with TripAdvisor can be a costly business - TripAdvisor, however useful, is still a commercial organisation and needs to make money!