Hotel ratings began around the 1950’s as part of a travel guide underwritten by what’s now Exxon Mobile. The guide was popular and soon included a team of inspectors who traveled throughout the United States performing inspections and checking the statuses of hotels and then assigning rankings. Today, while hotels in Europe have government oversight on rankings, rating systems for hotels in the United States are not government regulated.
Competing rating systems in the US include AAA (Diamonds), Northstar Travel Media (Crowns), and Forbes Travel Guide (Stars). Hotels can apply for these ratings or might self-designate a rating on their website without third party oversight or approval. This means unless you see the rating system logo on the hotel’s website, they may not have an official rating from one of those companies.
What is important to keep in mind is that ratings don’t have anything to do with things like safety or cleanliness, but typically take into account things like availability of amenities and furnishings. If you see a one-star hotel, that doesn’t mean it’s in an unsafe neighborhood or dirty, but rather you won’t find things like a swimming pool or a restaurant on-site.