ORLANDO, Fla. - May 16, 2005 -- Location isn't just important in real estate. It is the number one feature that travelers look for when deciding where to stay, according to a survey by Market Horizons and commissioned by AAA.

The survey named the top 10 factors that are considered when choosing accommodations. Following location in or near a destination city (93 percent of respondents) are proximity to a planned activity (90 percent), price (86 percent), a discount for AAA members (82 percent) and the property's AAA Diamond Rating (72 percent).

Other factors making the top 10 list and the percentage of respondents who said they were important are:

• Complimentary breakfast (60 percent)
• Cleanliness (45 percent)
• Having eco-friendly or green programs in recycling, landscaping, water conservation (34 percent)
• Having an indoor/outdoor pool (33 percent)
• Activities for children (tie, 20 percent)
• Allowing pets (tie, 20 percent)

When asked to rate how well the hotels they stayed in met their expectations based on the property's AAA Diamond Rating, 88 percent said the ratings were reliable and accurate. Among all leisure travelers, 54 percent agree that hotel ratings are important when selecting lodgings, according to the 2005 National Leisure Travel Monitor.

In addition, when asked what attribute best describes what the AAA Diamond Rating means to them, 63 percent of respondents indicated the cleanliness and condition of the property.

"These results point out the significance of the Diamond Ratings to travelers," said Michael Petrone, director, AAA Tourism Information Development. "It is evident that the survey respondents trust AAA's Diamond Ratings. This trust has been built one property at a time over the past 68 years, and is firmly rooted in AAA's thorough and unique inspection process."

According to research by the Travel Industry Association of America, a property's AAA Diamond Rating is one of the top 20 considerations most travelers use when determining what hotel to stay in. No other rating entity makes TIA's list of top 20.

AAA Approved and Diamond rated accommodations can be found and booked in AAA's print and online TourBook(R) guides and the Internet TripTik(R) trip planner on http://www.aaa.com. Nonmembers can book those lodgings on AAAmaps.com, AAA's free mapping and travel planning Web site.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 48 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.