We love awards and note that Online Travel Agent (OTA) Travelbug have created their own recognition of excellent performance by accommodation operators that sell inventory on their website.
Interestingly the award winners were selected on a unique criteria that included how accommodation operators managed their inventory on Travelbug and number the of bookings received.
The quality of guest feedback was also measured and the "Best Reviews 2011" award was given to a broad range of properties that achieved 100 per cent guest satisfaction.
There are five categories of awards presented as follows:
The Best Reviews Award is judged on guests that post 100% "thumbs up" positive feedback results across a minimum number of reviews. These hard working operators can proudly display the Best Reviewed 2011 award to show potential guests that their property is a great place to stay.
The Platinum Award is received by only the very best performing operators. The benchmark for this award is very high with only around 5% of properties being successful in receiving the Platinum Award.
The Gold Award recognises excellent achievement within the judging criteria and again only awarded to the very top performers. This award was presented to properties who performed within the top 10%.
We reckon that the awards are too inclusive with too many categories. In order to capture the public's imagination, we would like to see the criteria simplified and based solely on guest feedback that would rank a more exclusive selection of tall-poppy accommodation options.
It would be interesting to see the regional-spread and variety of accommodation options that would be ranked in a national top-10.
Hopefully the awards will prove to be a successful annual branding exercise for Travelbug.
