The Ratings Revolution
Hospitality businesses are now ranked, analyzed, and compared not by industry professionals, but by the very people for whom the service is intended – the customer. This has forged a new relationship between buyer and seller. As a result, businesses are much more accountable, which creates powerful incentives to improve service.
CAMBRIDGE – “Bonjour Monsieur, comment pourrais-je vous aider?” asks the obsequious concierge at my Paris hotel. I immediately wonder what happened to the city’s infamous haughtiness – especially toward American tourists. If the French capital is no longer Europe’s rudest city, we can perhaps thank the growth of online rating tools, such as TripAdvisor.