LateRooms Summary Note
Following extensive collaboration with LateRooms, VisitBritain is very pleased to report the release of a new version of the LateRooms website, which clearly identifies accommodation that has an 'official' star rating with either VisitBritain or the AA.
The LateRooms site is widely used by many accommodation operators, and over recent years it has become an important source of business for many B&Bs, guest houses and inns, as well as hotels. The site has a unique listing page that can display up to 50 properties at a time and once the destination has been selected, the customer can scan the long list to make a choice on price and star rating. Up until this recent new release of the website, hoteliers could 'self-award' their stars and the consumer could not distinguish between a valid 'official' star rating and a 'self-awarded' rating, nor between a hotel and a B&B or guest house.
Prompted by a small but significant number of complaints from customers and hoteliers, LateRooms approached VisitBritain, anxious to improve the accuracy of the star ratings that show on the website and reduce the confusion between the star ratings for hotels and guestaccommodation. VisitBritain provided LateRooms with the up-to-date ratings, (VisitBritain and AA) for cross-checking. Where a valid rating was found, the LateRooms entry was updated to show this rating with the correct designator. All Guest Accommodation now shows with a 'G' next to the stars on the listings, to differentiate between hotels and guest accommodation. All the non-assessed properties retain their 'old' ratings, as 'self-awarded', until the property owner/manager logs into the members' area and selects 'hotel' or 'guest accommodation' 'self-awarded' stars.
Although non-assessed accommodation may continue to 'self-award' their stars, the properties with 'official' ratings are now given prominence with yellow stars, whereas the 'self-awarded' stars appear in blue. If the search results are refined by star rating, the VB/AA assessed properties are shown above the properties with 'self-awarded' stars. On the main page for each establishment the full star rating is displayed with the designator, stating clearly whether assessed by VisitBritain or the AA (or 'self-awarded').
All hotels are now clearly identified and a click of the yellow '?' button leads the consumer to a more detailed page that explains the key criteria to achieve a hotel rating - (e.g. licensed and 100% ensuite) and explains the different categories, such as Metro Hotel. The Guest Accommodation categories are also explained as are other schemes , such as serviced apartments, self-catering, hostels and campus, which LateRooms also book, but less frequently than serviced accommodation.
VisitBritain and the AA will provide a quick turnaround service checking ratings for LateRooms where there is a query. Owners should contact LateRooms direct if they believe the rating shown to be incorrect - admin@laterooms.com
It is interesting to read some of the comments on the customer review pages on the site and it does seem that on occasions the display of high star ratings for guest accommodation properties, without the clear mention of the type of property, has led to disappointment, e.g. "more like a B&B than a hotel" - written about a 5 star Guest Accommodation property that looked like a hotel from the picture and had enthusiastic reviews, but would not meet the expectations of a guest who was expecting a 5-star hotel.
LateRooms has agreed to support the AA and VisitBritain's policy of only permitting 'hotel' in the names of properties that are assessed under the hotel scheme and will gradually update their entries to reflect this.
LateRooms has plans to check the ratings for properties in Scotland and Wales too, but at the moment it is only searches for accommodation in England that show the 'official' star ratings.