Star Power

Rate Expectations
No two star systems are alike. Here's how the most popular ones stack up

AAA
The nation's largest rating system in terms of properties evaluated, it awards diamonds, not stars. Undercover inspectors make annual visits to lodgings in North America, including Mexico and the Caribbean, and then inform general managers where improvements are needed. AAA assigns more value to the fact that a property has a facility such as a restaurant or a fitness center than to the quality of that facility; a resort that provides amenities such as recreation and dining can earn a five-diamond rating—AAA's highest—even if the guest rooms are only four-diamond in decor. Properties must pay to use the "five diamond" label in their advertising, which critics see as an incentive for AAA to award more diamonds.

Expedia
This Web travel agency bases its star system on existing independent ratings, "media recognition," customer feedback, and its own property inspections. It then uses a weighted system to arrive at a fixed star rating for each hotel. Only 210 of the more than 45,000 properties listed on the site have five-star ratings, but a five-star Expedia hotel is still easier to come by than a five-star Mobil hotel. Expedia also uses a half-star to show that a property is approaching another category but has not quite made it, although in many cases the half-star seems to be awarded to faded five-stars limping along on their reputation.

Mobil
Considered the gold standard for North American hotels, possibly because of its exclusivity. In 2005, only 31 hotels garnered the elusive fifth star, a fraction of the number that earned five diamonds from AAA. Properties start at 100 percent potential and lose points for infractions. (Forget to greet the inspector in the elevator? Lose a point.) The highest-scoring properties typically earn 95 points, based on a system that tests 18 different departments. Inspectors visit properties annually, incognito, and then visit again by appointment. Each inspector submits a score, and a recommendation is passed along to a rating committee made up of Exxon Mobil executives and Mobil Travel Guide staff.

Orbitz
The site bases its star ratings on a combination of AAA and Michelin guide rankings. Priceline. Considers ratings by other organizations, amenities, hotel brand, and customer feedback to award up to five stars.

Travelocity
The ratings on this site are, for the most part, AAA ratings. If a property doesn't have a diamond rating, Travelocity derives a rating based on its own research. The smiley face, which summarizes (a usually anemic number of) user reviews, is also a guide.

Trip Advisor
The site uses research by Northstar Travel Media, a trade publisher, to assign up to five stars to the properties it rates; it also ranks properties based on user feedback. More insightful are the reader opinions, posted by date starting with the most recent. There are always a few suspiciously glowing reviews, but reading through, say, ten, for a property will provide information that no star rating can.
—Debra A. Klein