Landing Gear, that's a good point.

However, the same topic comes up with costs:

In Zurich (or New York, or Singapore, for that matter) you can get a 3* hotel hardly for 100$, and 5* won't be found for less than 200++$

Compare it to, say Bangkok, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, where 3* will cost you maybe 30$ and 5* can be have for as low as 60$..

You won't rate the hotels in Zurich overpriced because of that, will you? Also, you don't expect LESS from the hotel in Bangkok just because it's only 1/4 of the one in Singapore, or do you?

There should always be some kind of "localisation" with any ratings in my opinion.

And not just that - depending on the location, I've also different "expectations". A 5* hotel in ZRH which is 300m away from a train station certainly won't offer free pickup service from there. Go to BKK, it's very common to offer such services. Will I rate the hotel in ZRH worse because of no-pickup service? Certainly not!

However, a 5* hotel with only an outdoor pool in Switzerland would get downrated by myself, while a 5* in BKK also just having an outdoor pool certainly wouldn't.

For me, a lot of things can be seen either as positive or negative, depending on the situation. Just a few things are either always good or always bad, no matter what. It's those things that I try to look / filter for.