Gold Stars and Pink Stars and Ratings, Agoda!
You’re itching to travel, I’m itching to travel, we are ALL itching to travel! And even though, at time of writing, it may not be advisable to travel, that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t dream. Or research. Or plan. There is no danger in researching or planning.
And honestly, if you’re looking to jetset to the other side of the globe, a little research can go a long way. I mean, just look at the above image, for instance. Sure, you’re used to the little green circles on TripAdvisor instead of gold stars, but you know that’s just a branding thing unique to them. Here we have two listings from the same site, Agoda, and we have two different star colors AND a rating.
What is Agoda? I don’t have all day and need answers!
Agoda.com is a Singaporean website, not unlike TripAdvisor, Booking.com, or Travelocity. It’s a travel agency and metasearch engine for hotels, vacation rentals, flights, according to its handy online description, but you’ve probably already guessed that it specializes in (and for) more Asian locales than otherwise.
So, if you’re planning a trip to China, Japan, or anywhere else that side of the Pacific, you just might be using Agoda. And yes, you’ll need to know what’s going on. So let’s get cracking!
The Star Systems
I mean, you probably don’t need much more information than what you get by hovering your mouse over the stars, but it IS vital information. A quick hover lets you know, “okay, this three stars is based on what the hotel thinks I’ll think.” It’s them deciding how to rate their own level of service, NOT what others think based on their own experiences.
Conversely, Pink Stars, ARE representative of what other guests have experienced, but also “other factors.”
So why the difference?
Well, here’s that extra context you come to Review Party Dot Com to get; Gold Stars are used for hotels and Pink Stars are used for Agoda Homes properties, which are more or less an AirBNB-type experience. These will, however, can be listed in the same search results, as seen at the top of the page.
But also pure ratings, eh?
Yeah, I guess so, dog. Y’know, just like you’d expect.
Both hotels and Agoda Homes have separate review sections where those who have been there tell you what was good, what was bad, and if someone was called Hannah.
It does seem to be pretty comprehensive. Beyond telling us the type of traveler and when and what their stay was, the ratings are also broken down into the following:
Again, this may be somewhat typical, but when you’re traveling abroad, it’s good to know if you should expect typical or something altogether unfamiliar. Like two different colors of stars in your rating system.
Happy researching, web-surfers.
