The boss of Australia’s largest hotel group has warned that the industry’s star ratings scheme has one last chance to succeed as travellers continue to be concerned about the quality and value for money offered by Australian properties.
Accor Australia vice president, Simon McGrath, said he hopes the new system will lead to a consistent approach to the way Australia is marketed to the world. McGrath, who has been consulted on the new system, which will launch on July 1, said it’s the last chance to get it right.
“It’s had a few false starts to date and it lacks some degree of credibility at the moment,” McGrath said.
Accor has been fully supportive of the new scheme, claiming Australian hotels have been “arrogant” in their attitude towards improving their property.
“The industry is now 30 to 40 years old in Australia. We’ve had a lack of refurbishments and we have product that is tired. We’ve got a reasonably arrogant approach [compared] to our competitors in other destinations around the world,” McGrath said.
He added that quality has never been a high priority as the industry benefited from “increasing rates, high demand and a stronger business model”.
The new system, if successful, will cause a necessary shake-up.
“It will cause change and it will cause angst and ultimately people only ever make change where there’s a bit of conflict, so you’d expect that over the next two years,” he said.
McGrath admitted the industry may be paying for its inaction, pointing to the flat domestic market. He said feedback from consumers is often mixed about the quality and value for money in Australia.