Follow these tips to avoid surprises at check-in time

Dissatisfaction with accommodations is the second-most- common travel complaint, after airline problems.

It's happened to every traveler. You arrive someplace to discover the hotel described in the brochure or Web site as "first class" turns out to be anything but, at least by your personal standards. Perhaps the room is too dirty, too small, too hot, too whatever to be satisfactory considering how much you're paying to spend a night there. Or maybe the hotel is in the midst of renovation. The location might be undesirable; the view isn't what you expected.

There's no end to the potential problems awaiting a traveler at check-in. That's surprising, especially in these days of easy access to information and Internet insights.

All hotel chains have Web sites and toll-free numbers, and numerous umbrella sites are devoted to booking hotels (www.hotels.com). The main travel Web sites (Travelocity.com, expedia.com and tripadvisor.com) let you access recommendations and critiques from other travelers. Numerous blogs and travel forums provide a welter of opinions and insights.

But even with all that information, sleuthing out reliable particulars that create a hotel's overall ambience can still be difficult.

Pictures can be misleading. Advertising copy does not always paint a complete and accurate story. Opinions expressed by strangers can never be taken as absolutes. All travelers have their own particular expectations. Who can you trust?

There are no common standards used to rate hotels around the world. Simply, terms such as "deluxe," "first-class," "economy" and "budget" do not mean the same thing everywhere.

Hotel chains and affinity associations claim to maintain consistent standards of service and amenities among their properties, but even a well-known brand name is no guarantee of satisfaction.

Enter the rating system.

Some tourism-conscious countries such as France and Italy operate their own national hotel rating systems, usually expressing quality in terms of stars or classes on a one-low to five-high basis.

These government-operated systems generally employ professional inspectors who check and rate the properties periodically. While there's no guarantee of satisfaction, these classification systems do usually mean that rankings within that country are fairly consistent and reliable.

For example, the government-run French hotel rating system (one to four stars) considers 22 objective factors when evaluating a property and its rooms, such as room sizes and numbers, soundproofing, heating and air-conditioning, design of bathroom facilities, phone and electrical system, presence of elevators.

Thus, four-star hotels in both Paris and on the Riviera are supposed to be comparable, at least in terms of facilities, although each may have quite different ambience.

Moreover, standards used to judge facilities are based on preferences of that country's citizens, and U.S. travelers may have very different expectations.

Government-run systems tend to be fairly consistent, at least among countries with similar living standards. Even in less-developed nations, the top categories approximate those found in wealthier countries.

The real disparities occur at the lower end of the spectrum. That's why smart travelers beware of hotels labeled "tourist-class" in a developing nation.

Unfortunately, Britain, Germany, Japan and even the United States rely on independent rankings -- there are no government rating systems.

Hospitality associations in countries such as Canada (www.canadaselect.com) and Germany (www.hotelsterne.de) have established their own rating systems. While these can be useful for comparisons, they also can be misleading because most information is supplied by the individual properties; standards can be sketchy, and compliance is not enforced. Editorial copy is often provided and paid for by the hotels and resorts themselves.

Other common hospitality rating systems are operated by national automobile associations. Their guides provide listings for a range of hotels, offering basic information, but, other than for high-end properties, they provide few specifics or insights into their ambience.

The American Automobile Association began listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. In 1937, the first field inspectors were hired to visit hotels, motels and restaurants. It introduced established ratings in 1963, with four categories: good, very good, excellent or outstanding. The diamond rating process was implemented in 1977, and now 65 full-time evaluators anonymously inspect more than 32,000 properties in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

To apply for evaluation, properties must meet 27 essential requirements covering cleanliness, comfort and security. Approved properties are assigned a rating of one to five AAA Diamonds.

In Britain, hotels have traditionally posted designations from one of two automobile associations, the AA or RAC, which provide only ratings of hotels and bare-bones contact information, ranked in terms of stars or diamonds. A new, unified five-star rating system (National Quality Assurance Standards) has just been introduced, and designations for all participating properties in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be changed by 2008.

Independently written guides offer another option.

When it comes to recommending hotels, these consumer-oriented publications fall into two basic categories: those listing a variety of hotels across a broad geographic range and those that offer detailed descriptions about a few specific recommendations, often within a particular city, region or country.

The first of these guides was published in 1900 by French tire titan Andre Michelin to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging and eat well while touring the country.

In 1926, star rankings were established to identify places with good cooking. Today Michelin has guides to 12 European countries, with dining guides to New York City and San Francisco.

In 1958, a similar program was established in North America by the Mobil Oil Corp. to rate hotels and restaurants. The Mobil Guide, now published by a separate division known as How Stuff Works, keeps tabs on more than 8,000 hotels, 8,000 restaurants and 100 resorts and spas in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. They are rated on a star system, from one low to five high, based on the facilities and services they provide, as confirmed by a team of inspectors who visit each place every 12 to 18 months.

More narrative guidebooks, such as those published by Fisher, Fodor and Frommer, tend to focus on a small selection of upscale hotels in a city or area, while series by publishers like Rough Guide and Lonely Planet review a broader price range of accommodations. These evaluations are based on the author's experience, rather than a standard system.

Then there are the do-it-yourself guides. Zagat is just releasing its 2007-08 World's Top Hotels, Resorts and Spas guide, based on reviews of more than 23,000 frequent travelers who participated in the survey, which includes ratings and reviews of 1,287 properties in 103 countries.

If you use a travel agency or online service to select a hotel, inquire about the source of its information. With the proliferation of hotels around the world in recent decades, few agents have firsthand experience with more than a handful of properties. Most rely on guides.

The most widely used of these is the service offered by Northstar Travel Media, which includes both the Official Hotel Guide and Star Guide, the two industry sources. Hotels are assigned ratings using Crowns, which are based on a variety of sources, mostly provided by the properties themselves, with no actual site inspections. The Star Guide, on the other hand, does research and can provide pointed insights about a particular property, but only about selected hotels.

Travelers who are particular about where they sleep should always get recommendations from a variety of sources and gather as much information about a hotel or resort as possible before they make their final decision. The best information still comes from the recent first-hand experience of a reliable source.

If you'll be someplace for more than a night or two, check with the hotel directly by phone or e-mail to get the best answers to specific questions you may have.

Even with all that, the final reality is that you can never be sure of what you're going to find until you get there.