The star rating has its earliest roots in travel guidebooks. In 1820, Mariana Starke published Travels on the Continent: written for the use and particular information of travellers, which used exclamation marks to indicate objects of note with “one or more exclamation points those works which are deemed peculiarly excellent.” Other guidebook authors quickly adopted this system of indicating noteworthiness using symbols and ultimately migrated from exclamation points to stars.
Today, the star rating is now used in a myriad of rating systems, but one of the most well known is by hotel associations. Most of these organizations use stringent criteria for assigning star ratings to hotel properties and, while each association has its own specific criteria, a common definition can be used to describe 5-star hotels around the world.
These are properties that exemplify luxury throughout the entire experience and in all aspects of the hotel’s operation. Services are highly convenient and personalized, and there is the utmost attention to detail and quality. Every need has been anticipated and accommodated in advance.
And as we daydream about staying at a hotel that is the epitome of luxury, we should also consider what it means to have the equivalent of a white-gloved-butler-and-nightly-turndown-service experience…with a business?