You may have heard of hotel rating systems like the AAA and the Mobil guides. But sometimes it’s easy to be confused by different rating systems—and not all hotel rankings tell the whole story.

AAA and Mobil’s rating systems are considered to be gold standard in North America.

But even these guides are highly subjective. Inspectors measure things like cleanliness, amenities, and staff appearance.

But they may not include details like your room’s water pressure or the last time your bedspread was washed.

And when you’re booking online, everything changes. Web sites like Hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline use their own inspectors, but these employees have two jobs: to rate hotels for consumers and to negotiate discounted deals for their site.

And lastly, you’re looking at user-generated websites like Tripadvisor, the stars rankings come from guests, not inspectors.

Before you get seduced by a five-star ranking, do your homework: compare ratings from different sources and read lots of customer feedback for the real story.

Check out our Hotels category for more helpful hints.

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