Page 17 - Explore Your AAA – AAA Southern Pennsylvania – Fall 2022

EXPLORE | DESTINATIONS FALL EDITION 2022
AAA Diamonds Take Guesswork Out of Where to Stay and Eat
By Samantha Brown
Host of “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love”
It’s never been easier to research your next trip. Simply type “Northern California road trip” or “Florida family vacation” and voila. You’re bombarded with hundreds of hotel, restaurant and activity options – with reviews and rankings, to boot.
Hold on a second. Who’s writing those
reviews anyway? Crowd-sourced review
sites play a huge role in the travel and
hospitality industry, but should they? For
me, the overwhelming number of reviews to
read is a daunting task. And then there are
only two types of reviewers: those venting
about a terrible experience and those
wanting to share notably fantastic service.
Worse yet, after a few hours of reading
through reviews, I am even less confident
about what I want to do. But the real issue
is you have no idea who’s behind the
username on crowd-sourced sites. It could
be an objective person who frequently travels for business or your crabby uncle who finds something to complain about, no matter where he goes. It could even be a made-up review from the business itself, trying to boost its ratings.
Travel is such a treasured experience. Whether it’s a road trip to a town an hour north or flying across the country, the time set aside to travel is special. I’m not leaving my hotel accommodations or anniversary dinner up to a random person’s opinion on the internet. That’s why I love AAA’s Diamond program.
The Diamond designations – formally called “ratings” – are determined based on inspection criteria and processes, which are newly updated to reflect current industry trends and member experience factors. Hotels and restaurants receive three-, four-, or five-diamond designations.
A three-diamond designation doesn’t necessarily mean
a place isn’t as good as a five-diamond; it’s more of a reflection of an establishment’s luxury and price point.
You can’t really compare an epically delicious pizza joint
to a 10-course tasting menu that costs almost as much as your mortgage – both are fabulous, but one definitely checks the special occasion box.
AAA takes great pride in training its Diamond inspectors, who inspect and review thousands of hotels and restaurants annually across North America and the Caribbean. In a hotel, that means everything from ensuring the room is free of dust bunnies, the property offers speedy Wi-Fi and light switches
are next to a hotel room’s entrance. In restaurants, it’s as much about great services and excellent food as it is about the details – from the quality of the table linens and flatware to the cleanliness of the bathroom.
These professional inspectors travel incognito, ensuring they receive no special treatment from hotels and restaurants. Collectively, they inspect 16,000 restaurants and more than 23,000 hotel rooms every year. Diamond-designated hotels are evaluated annually and restaurants are reviewed every one to five years, depending on their diamonds. The AAA mobile app and website gets updated frequently to ensure that members have the most up-to-date information.
Diamond inspectors may have a fun job, but they take it seriously. With so many hotels and restaurants to choose from, suggesting where to spend hard-earned money and precious time is not taken lightly.
The AAA Diamond Program is just one of the many reasons why traveling with AAA gives me peace of mind. The inspectors already endured the questionable hotel rooms and mediocre dinners, so I don’t have to. And for that, I thank them.
Samantha Brown’s Places to Love on PBS takes viewers on a discovery of the emotional heart of travel by highlighting the people who are changing, challenging, and strengthening a destination to deliver a decidedly refreshing and enriching travel experience. Learn more at AAA.com/SamanthaBrown.
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