INDONESIAN hotel owners are questioning the relevance of hotel star ratings in this digital era where travellers frequently refer to online customer reviews instead, such as the bubble ratings used by TripAdvisor.
Speaking at the hotel owners’ forum as part of the Indonesia Hotel & Restaurant Association (IHRA) workshop, Budi Tirtawisata, group CEO of Panorama Group, said: “In reality, star rating is just a formality. International hotel groups now use terms like midscale, upscale and luxury, based on market (prices).”
According to consultancy STR Global, which of those categories a hotel belongs to is based on the average daily room rate calculated over a 12-month period.
Budi added: “Many owners want to develop a hotel with four-star facilities but sell it at a three-star rate. This is not happening. Building a hotel is expensive and if you sell the rooms at a lower price, you will not get your money back.”
He said the reverse is true, where hotels are claiming to be a star rating higher than they actually are on OTA sites.
Bambang Dharma, owner of Kampung Lumbung Eco Friendly Boutique Hotel, Batu, East Java and chairman of IHRA Batu, said: “Travellers today look at the online rating, based on customer reviews. A non-star rating property like ours can be rated highly based on user reviews, competing squarely with five-star properties.”
He added that this rating could be used by hotels to determine prices.
“The reality is those who survive are the ones who are relevant in today’s market. What is relevant today are hotels which provide free WiFi and have at least four power points in the room,” said Bambang, who referred to research by TripAdvisor.
But some hoteliers still hold a firm view. Yulianti, managing director, Serfitatama, a tourism business certification body, said: “Hotel star ratings are part of the hotel business certification requirements dictated by the Indonesian tourism law. So (it is needed) whether we like it or not.”
