No More Five Star Australia Hotels

The development of new five star hotels in Australia is looking increasingly unlikely, according to industry experts.

Room rates are not high enough resulting in lower returns, according to Tourism Australia general manager destination development, Craig Davidson.

“The returns just don’t stack up,” he told a conference in Sydney. “We see the majority of new hotels being built in the four star market which is where the new Sydney Airport hotel will most likely sit.”

Karen Wales, senior vice president research and strategic advisory Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, agreed that growth would most likely occur

In the lower brackets.

“Most visitors are looking for budget or mid-market accommodation,” she said.

But with even lower room rates, these properties were also difficult to make viable, she added.

Meanwhile, chairman and founder of Anthology Hotels Grant Hunt drew a question mark over the existence of luxury properties in Australia.

“I don’t think that we do luxury in Australia,” he said. “We don’t have the service or the staff.”

(Source: Travel Today, December 2011)

Brisbane Hotel Reviews: No More Five Star Australia Hotels

Aspire Hotel Sydney: Aspire Hotel Sydney - Guest's Thank you letter

I was a lucky winner of your competition conducted through the "Daily Examiner" Grafton for a two night stay at your hotel.
We found the hotel staff and the accommodation first class and could not fault the service in any w&y , the reception desk staff were always most pleasant and only too willing to help and advise us, which made our stay all the more enjoyable.

In the two days we had in Sydney we managed to do and see everything we had planned.

I would like to thank you again for our great stay with you and will certainly recommend your hotel to anyone wishing to be advised on accommodation in Sydney and also when I should need to return to Sydney myself.

Thanking you,

Mary Katte

Aspire Hotel Sydney - Guest's Thank you letter

“I now stay here all the time.” Metro Hotel Sydney Central

I have stayed in many more expensive and lavish hotels in Sydney but the Metro ticks all the right boxes for me. The front desk service is always efficient and friendly and at times I have been able to check into my room by 1100 hours if it is available. The rooms themselves are clean and definitely adequate for business or tourist needs. Beds are very comfortable, there is an iron and ironing board in the cupboard and hairdryer in the basic bathroom that consists of a bath with shower above. What else does one need when the sights of Sydney are within walking distance.

The rooms themselves are very quiet and I have never been disturbed by other guests or undue street noise. Value for money in an increasingly expensive city is great.
Walk a few blocks north and you are in the heart of shopping or one block west and immerse oneself in Chinatown. Central station is a mere 5 minute walk away, Surry Hills restaurants an extra 5 minutes. Whenever I stay I see people from all over the world and they do not look disappointed.

Room Tip: The higher up the floor the less chance of road noise. South facing rooms have a good view.

Trip Advisor 4 out of 5 Reviewed November 13, 2011

How to combat Fake Review Optimization on travel Sites

Unfortunately, a reactive approach to the challenge posed by RFOs (Fake Review optimisation) is not effective. Striking a single astroturfed review or having a single sockpuppet profile deleted is akin to scraping party ice from an iceberg.

The ability to generate faux user generated content at will, with the appearance of having it originate from disparate sources and locales, is difficult to stifle. By nature, FROs are exceptionally good at hiding and one can assume that contingencies have been planned in the event of satellite operations being compromised.

Conventional methods to track FROs like blacklisting reviews originating from common IP address, a technique borrowed from email anti-spam filters, are too simplistic, catching only those least likely to have the ability to launch large scale campaigns capable of materially impacting a hotel’s online reputation.

Circumstantial evidence such as ratios for reviews to the number of occupied rooms or the ratio of frequent reviewers to anonymous reviewers may hint at atypical levels of guest engagement. Additionally, flurries of positive reviews following posting of a negative review may appear unnatural.

Jumping to the conclusion that such flags are evidence of malfeasance is inadvisable. They may indicate a hotel is doing an excellent job of legitimately engaging its community of guests. Or, it just may be a coincidence.

Without being able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the review source was illegitimate, protests are likely to fall on deaf ears when brought to the attention of the review site or authorities.

Researchers at Cornell University claim to have developed algorithms that isolate fake reviews based on sentence structure and word utilization. While the research methodology identified certain patterns, the sources of the fake reviews were not professional FROs determined to blend in with the crowd.

How to combat Fake Review Optimization on travel Sites

To Post or Not to Post - 'Get it in writing' - Hotel Reviews

It’s a phrase one often hears when guarding against legal action, its also a physical affirmation of something positive or constructive, but when it comes to hoteliers, 'getting it in writing' has a more nuanced meaning.

Ever since the first hotels and temporary lodging facilities arose, hoteliers have had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of their most valued resource: their customers – especially when it came to the delicate world of written feedback.

But what was once relegated to a quaint leather-bound book on the corner of some concierge desk has expanded exponentially. First came widespread travel publications that would print with equal care both positive and negative reviews.

Today, those efforts seem decidedly quaint as social media and the increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile and smartphone technology allows current and former guests unparalleled commenting access – without the filter of a publisher. While it’s easy for hoteliers to remain skeptical over such unfettered open access, the benefits of “going social” for hoteliers far outweigh the risks.

The logic behind this embrace is simple. The proverbial Pandora’s box has already been opened. Former and future guests alike are already posting their opinions on sites like Facebook and Twitter about their travel experience, beginning with the initial booking and following through all aspects of the travel cycle including: dreaming, researching, experiencing and sharing.

In addition, user generated content sites like TripAdvisor, and online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline, among many others, are similarly embracing user comments. If hoteliers are concerned about losing control of their messaging, the best way to track what’s being said about their hotel is by promoting a guest shift from private and independent site postings to include the more controlled public arena of a hotel website or its affiliated Facebook or Twitter page.

Recognizing the inevitability of this trend, a growing number of hotels are already jumping on board. Earlier this month Marriott Hotels announced it would allow guests from several of its locations, (Marriott Marquis in New York and the Marriott Courtyard near Orlando, among others) to post comments about their stay regardless of the quality of their experience. The announcement follows a similar move by Starwood Hotels & Resorts that also began allowing their preferred customers the ability to post comments directly to their website.

To be sure, hotels that choose this route require a firm commitment and necessary web-savvy staffing. In other words, it can’t be done half way. Whether or not Marriott’s open-access approach or Starwood’s more limited approach is best for online guest reviews remains to be seen.

One thing is clear. Even if hotels fail to embrace online customer reviews, they are already being written on numerous personal and public sites. Growing smartphone penetration rates, (around 62% for young adults ages 24-35) suggests postings will be grow easier, more mobile, and more frequent.

In time not only will reviews alone be important to future guests, but the transparency and openness of a hotel that allows such access may also be factored in a guest’s lodging decisions. This is similar to how some restaurant patrons choose their dining experience as much based on food quality as they do on whether the establishment offers free Wifi: an expected service.

So whether it’s via text, personal website, or a hotel’s own webpage, getting a customer’s review in writing has always been a component to the hotel-guest relationship. It’s time hotels welcomed the modern social media conversation by letting their guests joins theirs.

By Vanessa Horwell

“Cheap hotel close to Sydney” - Aspire Hotel Sydney

This is a good hotel that is about 10-15 minute walk to Darling Harbour and a bit more to the CBD. The hotel was clean and rooms were a good size with a balcony (the east side has a view of the city). The beds were a bit soft for my liking and I ended up with a stiff neck but then again when you are paying just over $100 p/n for a place so close the CBD I am not going to complain about that too much. The rooms in general are what I would expect from paying this price, clean but dated bathrooms and living areas. There is a fridge in your room but no minibar, although you can purchase some items from a vending machine in the lobby.

The staff were mostly friendly although some of them could do with understanding and exhibiting some common sense. When I arrived at 1:50pm on the tuesday the staff member at first told me the room wasnt ready as "check in was at 2pm". I pointed out that 10 minutes shouldn't make a lot of difference and then she called housekeeping and found out the room was actually ready. To my mind it would have been better for her to check before making the statement? The other example was at checkout I had organised a shuttle to the airport, when I paid and the shuttle turned up they hadnt given me a ticket so I asked at reception.

The girl who had organised my checkout 15 mins prior (and I had stood out the front of the glass doors waiting for the shuttle in the meantime) told me there was no record of me staying at the hotel? I pointed out to her that she had just checked http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifme out at which point it seemed to click with her that what she had said was absurd. I got my ticket although I am not sure she knew what she was doing as she gave me a blank ticket, I think it was to save her any more embarrasment?
Other than these 2 experiences the staff were helpful with directions and the actual stay was good. Probably the other thing I thought was a bit strange was the TV only having analogue reception, and the 'new' release DVD's available included Titanic and Die Hard 4?

Overall this hotel was a good stay for the price!

Trip Advisor Reviewed 19 November 2011 (NEW)

Aspire Hotel Sydney: Thankyou to staff at Aspire Hotel Sydney

I recently stayed at the hotel and was stranded with 3 other friends due to the Qantas action. We would like to thank all the staff who were very helpful and assisted us greatly at a rather stressful time. We stayed 3 extra nights – Sun 30^th to Tues 1^st and would like to pass on our thanks to all the staff who were there at the time. We will certainly recommend the hotel to friends.

Kind Regards, Anne Arnold (+ Kaye, Diana, Sharlene and Bronwyn)

Thankyou to staff at Aspire Hotel Sydney