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Zagat 2005 hotel guide released

Za-gat, not Zag-its (thanks Trump!) has released their 2005 hotel survey guide.  The book compiles over 1,021 hotels, resorts, and spas in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Over 16,000 frequent travelers participated, including over 900 members of the American Society of Travel Agents (um, is that a good thing?).

Recently, a former Zagat employee let loose on the popular consumer survey company for calling the company an "editorial factory".  He went on to say the following:

A number of smart, talented people spend virtually all day, every day stringing together those supposedly pithy quotes, and as they pass before you, you have to spray on some alliteration or insert a pun. It's what passes at Zagat for wit.

This former employee sheds some interesting light on the Zagat's system.  Apparently, if a property scores high, you won't see any negative comments, except possibly concerning price.  On the other hand, if a location collects a lower score it must contain some negative comments.  This employee was speaking about the restaurant guide in particular, but we are assuming the hotel guide follows a similar format.

Despite the criticism, Zagat does bring to the forefront some interesting numbers on what hotel customers are looking for.  For instance, 59% of travelers say poor service irritates them most. Dirty rooms (17%) and noisy guests (12%) come in second and third respectively.  Finally, Zagat found that almost 70% of travelers reported that they usually book their travel on the Internet.

Related Stories:
·    Zagat Survey 2005 [HospitalityNet]
·    Zagat [MUG]