Casablanca – The first thing many travellers check when booking a hotel is its star rating. A four or five-star label usually suggests a certain level of comfort and service. But does the experience guests actually get always match those expectations?

A study by travel insurance provider InsureandGo, published on October 20, sought to answer just that. Researchers compared the star ratings of 15,120 hotels across 106 destinations with their guest review scores to see where hotels exceeded expectations and where they fell short.

They also analyzed around 775,000 negative review comments to understand what disappoints guests when a hotel fails to live up to its rating.

Among the destinations surveyed, Marrakech stood out for a less encouraging reason. Guests rated 46.2% of its hotels below their official star ratings, placing the city fourth among destinations where hotels most often fall short.

Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana leads the ranking, with 71.8% of hotels rated below their stars. Qatar’s Doha follows at 63.2%, while Hong Kong comes third at 49.2%. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mykonos, Bodrum, Mumbai, and Melbourne complete the top 10.

Marrakech also stands as the only Moroccan destination on the list.

When the price raises expectations

So, what makes guests feel that a hotel has not delivered what its stars promise?

According to the study, value for money represents the biggest source of disappointment. And when you think about it, the connection makes sense. A higher room rate naturally comes with higher expectations. Guests expect the service, comfort, and overall experience to justify what they pay.

When the experience falls short of the price, those expectations can quickly turn into negative reviews.

Service and breakfast also appeared frequently among the complaints. After all, a hotel stay involves more than a comfortable room. The way staff welcome guests, respond to their needs, and serve breakfast can shape the entire experience.

Four stars or five?

Interestingly, the study found a significant gap between four and five-star hotels.

Four-star hotels seem to have an easier time meeting guest expectations. Around 94% match or exceed their official rating, and 57.6% actually receive higher scores from guests.

Five-star hotels, however, face a much tougher test. Only 9% receive a guest score equivalent to five stars. Since the study compares guest scores directly with hotel star ratings, five-star properties can only match or fall below their rating.

That leaves little room for error. Guests paying for a luxury stay often expect every detail to meet a high standard, from the service and breakfast to the facilities and value for money.

But what does a hotel’s star rating actually mean?

Well, the answer is a bit ambiguous. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that hotel star ratings do not follow one universal system.

In the UK, hotels can pay to undergo assessments by organizations such as the AA. Much of Europe follows the shared Hotelstars criteria, while the United States has no official national hotel star-rating system.

This means a three-star hotel in one country may offer a very different experience from a three-star property elsewhere. Star ratings generally indicate a hotel’s facilities and services, but they do not guarantee how guests will feel about their stay.

Mellisa Hutchins, travel cover specialist at InsureandGo, points to this difference as an important factor for travellers.

“A star rating tells you what facilities a hotel has, but it can’t always guarantee how your stay will feel, and because there’s no global standard, a four-star in one country can be very different from a four-star in another,” she noted.

Where do hotels exceed expectations?

The study also identified destinations where hotels receive better scores from guests than their official ratings suggest.

Spain’s Málaga takes the lead, with 90.7% of its hotels rated above their stars. Switzerland’s Zermatt follows at 89.5%, while Orlando in the United States ranks third at 88.1%.

Seville, Kraków, Venice, Bucharest, Nashville, Amsterdam, and Budapest also make the top 10.

Overall, the research found that guests rate 62% of hotels higher than their official star ratings, while 19% receive lower scores. This suggests that hotels often do better than their stars might lead travellers to expect, although the results vary considerably between destinations.

For anyone planning a winter getaway, the findings offer a useful reminder: a hotel’s stars tell only part of the story. Before booking, it is worth checking recent guest reviews, looking closely at comments about service and value for money, and making sure the facilities match what you actually need.

After all, a five-star label may look impressive on a booking page, but a satisfying stay is what really counts.

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