Editor’s blog

The hotel guide business

Good content does not come free

Having worked for various newspapers over four decades, I must have hacked out millions of words over the years. But never a blog. So veterans will have to be patient while I learn the tricks of my new trade.

The launch of the GHG's website, containing all the entries of our selected hotels will, I believe, be invaluable for all those searching the internet for independent advice on how to find a good hotel at a price they can afford. There is a huge amount of information out there about hotels, but much of it is unreliable. Too often, it is inspired, collusive, out-of-date or poorly informed. There are also, of course, lots of hotel guides, but most of them take large amounts of money from hotels, often running into thousands of pounds. And you don't have to be a cynic to believe that he who pays the piper invariably calls the tune.

The unique advantage of the Good Hotel Guide is its independence. It offers honest, unbiased comment on the merits of individual hotels. The Guide calls it as we see it without fear or favour. I wouldn't dare claim that we always get it right, but thanks to the generosity of thousands of readers who have been writing to us for years, we soon know if our judgment goes astray. Our selection of good hotels is almost impossible to pervert (though hoteliers often try), because we know who is writing to us. Tracking the opinions of our readers over 30 years, is the best proof against unfair, malicious or collusive reports.

The other advantage of a Guide based on readers' comments is that the world never stays still. No guide can afford to inspect all of its selected establishments several times a year. That would cost millions of pounds and our annual inspection budget is a fraction of that. Sadly, hotels and their standards can change fast, and for all sorts of reasons. The chef may have run off with the housekeeper, the manager may have changed, or the owner may have got fed up. It only needs a few key people to jump ship and suddenly a hotel which has been outstanding for years can start going downhill. We also benefit from readers telling us about new hotels they have discovered which they think we should inspect. Any fool can find an expensive hotel which charges fancy prices. Finding good-value hotels when they are still building up a reputation takes time and effort.

Finally, I want to end this blog on a crucial but difficult issue. Good content costs money, but that co-exists uneasily with the free culture of the internet. If you ask me whether this website is going to be viable in the long term, I will mutter hopefully about advertising and sponsorship. But the reality is that it is being launched on a wing and a prayer. I believe it can co-exist and complement our published guide which comes out each October, but if I am wrong about that, and it cannibalises our sales, I will have to think again. Anyone who has views about how a guide like ours, which is intensively researched and costs a lot of money to produce, can thrive on the internet, please get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.

Adam Raphael

 

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