Finding quality accommodation will soon be even easier for travellers thanks to a new industry partnership between Qualmark and TripAdvisor. Beginning in June 2014, any New Zealand accommodation provider with a Qualmark star rating will have this automatically displayed alongside their TripAdvisor traveller rating.

Tim Keeling, General Manager Qualmark New Zealand says the partnership between the world’s largest travel website* and the New Zealand industry’s only independent and official provider of a quality star rating will only strengthen the performance of Qualmark-rated businesses.

“Peer recommendation has long been a critical influencer in the tourism consumer’s decision making” Mr Keeling notes. “Today millions of global consumers search, review and choose accommodation based upon information they find on TripAdvisor. This partnership means that if an accommodation provider in New Zealand has made the commitment in achieving an independent Qualmark star rating, this rating will automatically be displayed within their listing on TripAdvisor.”

“The addition of Qualmark star ratings on TripAdvisor simply allows the consumer to be more informed, and that can only be good for business.”

Vice President of Content at TripAdvisor Catherine Tremaine, adds: “As one of the world’s leading travel resources, we want to ensure that the hotel classifications shown on TripAdvisor are as accurate as possible. Our partnership with leading ratings authorities like Qualmark enables us to display star ratings for New Zealand accommodations listed on TripAdvisor, providing travellers with the most up-to-date content to help them more effectively research and plan their trip.”

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, Q1 2014