AAA Celebrates 75 Years of Hotel and Restaurant Inspections

59,000 hotels and restaurants are now evaluated annually by AAA.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 – For Immediate Release – Long before there were Web sites, social networks and consumer reviews to help travelers find a clean hotel and a good meal, AAA inspectors were looking under beds and tasting the meatloaf all along North America’s roads. This summer marks AAA’s 75th year of conducting on-site evaluations and publishing the results in AAA’s printed TourBook travel guides, which are now also available online at www.AAA.com and in ebooks and via smartphone applications.

“We personally evaluate all of the properties we list,” explained Inspector 80 (identified numerically to maintain anonymity). “We show up unannounced, we never make appointments and we allocate only a short amount of time from the point of introduction to the point we are in the first room conducting our inspection.”

Even in the wake of the recent technological information explosion, AAA members and the rest of the traveling public still want and trust inspector evaluations. Both traveler-generated satisfaction scores and professional quality ratings are important, according to the 2010 PhoCusWright Consumer Technology Survey. Sixty-eight percent of respondents noted that each of these Web site features was influential in helping them make their travel planning decisions.

“When I say what I do for a living,” Inspector 80 said, “people ask, ‘How do I get your job?’ I tell them you have to love to travel, eat out in restaurants and see attractions … OK, maybe it does sound like fun. While being an inspector can be very demanding, I wake up every morning absolutely excited to be doing what I do.”

A History of Service

In 1937, to provide better travel information to members, AAA employed its first inspectors, called field reporters, to evaluate and report on hotels and restaurants. Inspection information was offered to members in the three regional TourBook travel guides published at that time.

In 1963, to further improve its decision-making information, AAA adopted a formal rating system that categorized TourBook-listed accommodations as good, very good, excellent or outstanding. In 1976, AAA introduced its current diamond rating system for hotels, using a diamond in honor of the 75th anniversary of the association itself. Between 1985 and 1990, AAA expanded the diamond ratings and began evaluating and rating restaurants, also.

Today, AAA’s professionally-trained inspectors continue this practice as they inspect, approve and rate more than 59,000 hotels and restaurants annually to help travelers have a positive experience.

“AAA is proud to mark three-quarters of a century of providing members with valuable travel information based on in-person evaluations,” said Michael Petrone, director, AAA Tourism Information Development. “From the early inspection system to today’s comprehensive diamond rating system, AAA has been committed to helping members select quality establishments appropriately matched to their needs and expectations.”

AAA Ratings

“Properties must be clean and well maintained to be AAA Approved, and only then is the diamond rating calculated,” Inspector 80 said. “If AAA receives a member complaint about a property, the details are forwarded to the inspector assigned to that territory. If a property does not maintain our cleanliness and condition standards, the listing is disapproved regardless of the diamond rating. 

AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity and is the only system that covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations. Travelers can learn more about AAA inspections and what the diamond ratings mean for hotels and restaurants at AAA.com/Diamonds.

AAA Travel Information

Travelers can access AAA TourBook information online and while traveling. At AAA.com, searchable listings are accessible through the Travel Guides and TripTik® Travel Planner. Travelers with smartphones can use the free AAA Mobile Web or AAA TripTik Mobile app to find nearby listings using GPS technology. At AAA.com/ebooks, members can download free eTourBook guides for use on their ereaders and smartphones.

AAA inspectors also contribute to the AAA TravelViews blog, an informal forum that gives travelers an inside peek at the glamour and realities of inspecting for a living. Later this year the inspectors will begin sharing real-time information on Twitter (@AAA_Travel).

A not-for-profit organization, AAA Oklahoma serves its 350,000 members across Oklahoma with emergency help on the road, auto travel assistance and a wide range of personal insurance, travel, financial and automotive services through its 41 retail branches, regional operations center and the Internet at www.AAA.com.