Return to Virginia Business - April 2004

When marble isn’t enough
Top hotel ratings boost prestige and business — if you can get them

Related stories:
- The Homestead's steady hand
- Virginia's theme parks help drive tourism

by Ruth A. Hill
Virginia Business
April 2004

When people ask Joe Longo what defines hotels and restaurants in the five-diamond category, the general manager of The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond tells the story of a gentleman who arrived in casual attire for a formal cocktail reception. “He came up to me, told me he had limited clothing, and wondered what he should do,” Longo says. “He needed a jacket, and preferably a brown one. It happened that I had one in my office, and, as luck would have it, we were about the same size. So I gave it to him.”

That kind of service is what it takes, say managers who have reached the ratings summit. Anticipating guest needs before they've even thought of them, reading guests' moods and knowing how to raise them — this is the mandatory culture for those who attain the top ratings given by the American Automobile Association and Mobil Travel Guide.

Top rankings bring prestige and business, and two Virginia properties are currently among the elite. The Jefferson boasts five AAA diamonds on both its accommodations and its 134-seat restaurant, Lemaire. About 90 minutes southwest of Washington, D.C., in Washington, Va., the Inn at Little Washington occupies even more rarified air, with five Mobil stars and five AAA diamonds for its accommodations and restaurant. It's no newcomer to that level — in 1987 it became the first U.S. property to win perfect ratings in both categories, a distinction it holds today and shares with only two other U. S. properties, the Woodlands Resort & Inn in Summerville, S.C., and the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco.

Of course, guests have to pay for top quality. Daily room rates at the Inn start at $370 and $265 at The Jefferson. The hotel's Presidential Suite commands $1,800 a night. But the high ratings bestow a seal of approval with universal recognition that makes some guests willing to pay. “A conference arranger may look only at four and five [rated] properties, and others can get shut out of business,” says David Richey, managing director of Richey International, a global hotel marketing consultant in Chevy Chase, Md.

When hotels drop in the ratings, owners often consider remedies and large capital outlays to bring them back up, says Richey. When the Williamsburg Inn dropped from five to four stars several years ago, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation invested millions in refurbishing its lead hotel, which is still waiting to regain its former glory. The Williamsburg Lodge and Conference Center is about to get a similar makeover to elevate its current two-star status. “Our goal,” says Carol Godwin, the foundation's public relations manager, “is for both properties to have at least four Mobil stars and four AAA diamonds.”

Yet some hotel managers consider the ratings frivolous. “I am not a believer in either of the ratings systems, because they can dictate your capital improvements — and those improvements are not necessarily what the guest wants,” says Gary Rosenberg, president and CEO of The Homestead in Hot Springs. “We have invested $100 million in the past 10 years where guests and the marketplace tell us they want us to spend it.”

For 30 years The Homestead had five stars from Mobil, then slipped to four for 15 years and today has a three-star rating. So contrarian is Rosenberg on the issue that several years ago he wrote the AAA and asked the travel organization to stop rating The Homestead. Much to his dismay, Mobil continues to rate the hotel. “Mobil's system is outdated because it's purely for hotels,” says Rosenberg. “Instead of looking at your amenities like the golf course and spa, they rate just rooms and food. You simply can't put us alongside a downtown chain hotel.”

Rosenberg thinks the resort industry needs a new rating system that would redefine criteria and specialize in the property types that are rated. “I think Mobil has tried to make a point to the industry by downsizing so many fine properties of great significance. They'd rather give higher credibility to their five stars and make them more elite,” he says.

Mobil defends its system. Shane O'Flaherty, vice president of Mobil Travel Guide, says Mobil strives for objectivity by applying a business process to the art of hospitality. “Service really is an art form, so we compare The Jefferson Hotel with a hotel in another city because they all get graded in the same way.” In addition, the company's guides accept no advertising or revenue exchange — which O'Flaherty calls “part of our efforts to maintain integrity as a consumer advocate.”

What's more, both AAA and Mobil use anonymous inspectors who check into properties and gather details. One difference: after an inspection AAA shares its assessment with hotel management. If the rating drops, it gives management a year to “correct things,” before the rating change is actually made, says Michael Petrone, AAA's director of tourism information development. There's also an appeals process. Mobil doesn't share its evaluations.

AAA also evaluates a lot more properties — 32,000 lodging evaluations and 21,000 restaurants – many more than Mobil. There are about 40 properties with five Mobil stars; AAA has 82 with five diamonds. Mobil dropped a third of its rated properties from the five level this year, Petrone says, while the number of AAA fours and fives has increased in the past two years.

Those all-important impressions of a hotel's service wouldn't be possible without visits from mysterious inspectors, who act as spies and stand in for the hallowed guest. Their job may sound glamorous, but some inspectors say they have encountered everything from dead bodies under the bed to leaky roofs. Generally, inspectors are detail-oriented people, many with 10 or more years experience in the hospitality industry. They have to be willing to spend about eight months a year on the road, and be able to blend in with other guests. As for pay, neither Mobil nor AAA will divulge what inspectors earn.

Obviously, the job has perks (how bad can a massage be in one of those luxurious spas) and surprises as well. One Mobil inspector, on the job for 18 months, recalls the time when a housekeeper didn't knock before she entered his room to do the nightly turndown service. “I had to leap from the bedroom into the bathroom as I informed her I was changing clothes.”

The inspector notes that his feedback represents just a small part of an evaluation. “My personal property experience and opinions on about 420 criteria are just one part of the process. The scores also come from facility reports and customer comments — there's little subjectivity.”

Still, when under the microscope of anonymous inspectors, managers at top-rated properties say they and their staffs can't afford to slip. “Earning five stars or diamonds is easier than maintaining them,” says Patrick O'Connell, co-owner and chef of the 16-room Inn at Little Washington. “When you reach that level you must go beyond. Staff has to perform at full tilt, all the time, like a theater performance that receives a standing ovation. The guest wants to feel on their night the place was operating at absolute peak, because that's their only perspective.”

Success begins with staff hiring, says O'Connell. “We look for those who have an overwhelming desire to please people,” he says. “This culture is often what grander properties miss. They believe if they have enough marble and gilt the rest will take care of itself.” In its quest for customer satisfaction, insiders at the Inn even use a one to 10 “mood scale” to track guests' emotions.

Though figuring out a guest's mood is largely intuitive, O'Connell says the individual numbers get recorded on a kitchen computer so staffers will know how to approach guests. “Even if it's something beyond our control like a speeding ticket or a marital dispute, we feel it will affect guests' ability to appreciate our efforts. That's why we put a lot of energy into bringing up their moods,” says O'Connell. “Anything below a seven calls for efforts to elevate it. By the time they depart, we want that number to be at 10.”

Maybe that means a frown brings an extra dessert. At any rate, there's no question that high ratings are mood enhancers for hotel managers. After all, how many stars or diamonds go over the door have a big impact on the business that comes through it.

Return to Virginia Business - April 2004