Accommodation managers in the region are on high alert as their rooms again come under the scrutiny of AAA Tourism inspectors.

A new assessing model which has a greater emphasis on quality and condition, rather than the number of facilities focus of the past, has apparently put some accommodation providers on the back foot.

According to AAA Tourism, their inspectors review standards in three major areas; facilities and services, cleanliness, and quality and condition, and cover areas which "directly impact customer service experience."
 
But criticism of the rating system and its inspectors has flared, with some accommodation providers saying the system is too rigid, and that inspector's personal taste is affecting scores.

"Things that are old seem not to be valued even though they are perfectly fine," said one resort manager who chose not to be identified.

"They don't like things to be different from room to room, they want it all to be the same, and what was ok in the past is not ok this year," he said.

Some resorts are also being issued with "provisional ratings" which require providers to make significant upgrades to their facilities within a 12 to 18 month period, or risk being downgraded.

A AAA Tourism representative said these provisional ratings were introduced because they were aware the new assessing model would negatively affect some operators.

He said the changes to the rating system were made based on consumer research.

Many resorts and accommodation houses are now choosing to 'self-rate' their properties, moving away from AAA Tourism ratings.

The AAA Tourism representative said their research showed that only 10% of consumers recognised self-rating as legitimate, and the rating agency is currently lobbying booking services such as Wotif to list self-rated accommodation under AAA Tourism rated accommodation.

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