A 3 min read

According to research covering the last decade, the average number of rooms added by high-end hotel chains was lower than what the hotel industry average did for this period, but their occupancy and room rates grew faster than the average hotel.

 

Meaning Analysis

• According to research covering the last decade,
• the average number of rooms added by high-end hotel chains was lower than

The sentence presents comparison through the finding of a research as expressed by lower than. Per the research, in the last ten years, the expensive hotel chains did not add as many rooms as… Let’s continue reading to know about the other part of the intended comparison:

• what the hotel industry average did for this period,

This part of the sentence completes the comparison. We understand that the entire hotel industry average increased the number of rooms during the same time when the expensive hotel chains did. However, the expensive hotel chains added fewer rooms than did the average hotel industry. Reading further:

• but their occupancy and room rates grew faster than the average hotel.

The last part starts with the key-word but. So we are going to read information contrasting to what we have read so far. Well, this part also presents a comparison which is in contrast to the comparison we read earlier in the sentence. The stated comparison is that the expensive hotel chains experienced faster growth in occupancy and room tariffs than the average hotel.

 

To sum up, the research presents two contrasting comparisons. In the last ten years, the expensive hotel chains added fewer rooms than did the average hotels. However, these chains that added fewer rooms witnessed faster growth in occupancy and room tariffs than the average hotels.

 

Error Analysis

 

 

Comparison Errors

1. In the first comparison, the entities compared are the average number of rooms and what the hotel industry did. Since the first entity is a number and the second entity is an action, the comparison is neither grammatical nor logical.
2. In the second comparison, the occupancy and room rates of the high-end hotel chains have been compared to the average hotel in terms of the speed of growth. This comparison is not logical since a feature of some entity (occupancy and room rates of a hotel) is being compared with the entity (hotel) itself.

 

 

POE

Incorrect

 

This choice is incorrect for the reasons stated in the error analysis.

Correct

 

This is the correct answer choice. The first comparison has been made between high-end hotel chains and the hotel industry average on the basis of the average number of rooms added by both. The second comparison has been made between the two categories of hotels on the basis of the growth in occupancy and room rates.

Incorrect

 

1.  Idiom Error

 

This choice uses wrong idiom X lower as compared to Y. The correct idiom is X lowerthan Y. 

 

2.  Parallelism Error

 

There is no entity in the sentence that is grammatically parallel to the prepositional phrase modifier withthe average hotel.. Presence of this phrase leads to ungrammatical comparison in the sentence.

Incorrect

1.  Comparison Errors

 

This choice repeats both the comparison errors of Choice A.

 

2.  Idiom Error

 

This choice repeats the idiom error of Choice C.

 

3.  Verb Tense Error

 

Use of past perfect tense had been is incorrect because all the actions mentioned in the sentence took place during the same period of time. Hence, there is no need of any sequencing or the use of past perfect tense for the same.

Incorrect

 

1.  Idiom  Error

 

This choice repeats the idiom error of Choice C.

 

2.  Pronoun Error

 

Since the pronoun their logically refers to high-end hotel chains, the pronoun they seems to refer to the same noun. So there is a pronoun reference issue per this choice because the logical antecedent of pronoun they is occupancy and room rates.