Joe Sharkey’s column in Sunday’s New York Times highlighted hotel rating inflation, with some properties now claiming “six star” designations and one even claiming seven.

Meanwhile, there’s a proliferation of websites and guides offering star ratings of properties, and there’s little consistency or quality control among many of them.

Beyond those basic points, of course, the article degenerates into silliness: that a good rule of thumb is “about $100 a star,” that Westin is on par with Four Seasons and Peninsula properties, and that Radisson is a four star chain.