BUSINESSES in Winchester are turning their backs on traditional hospitality awards in favour of social media reviews.

Restaurants and cafes are increasingly reliant on such website reviews as Trip Advisor rather than awards such as the AA Hospitality rosette.

Head of tourism at Winchester City Council, Ellen Simpson, said while some of the larger companies, such as Hotel du Vin and High Street restaurants, were still proudly displaying their awards the department had noticed a sharp rise in the number of companies rejecting national recognition.

“People are voting with their feet about quality and services and our businesses are looking less to nationally accredited schemes like AA and investing more into their social media to help,” Ms Simpson said.

“It’s not the case for all. Some of our bigger businesses will still be making the point of being linked with rosettes. We’re still supporting them because it’s important to them but we are seeing a big growth on usage for Trip Advisor.”

Ms Simpson added that, when compared to free and instant customer reviews, it was not cost-effective for the department to send out their hospitality inspectors.

She said: “The Hampshire Hospitality Awards were really valuable when they were there but it’s not the case anymore. For us to pay for our inspector to come out, it’s not sustainable.”