Hotel classification in the UK, Germany and Europe

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Three, four or five stars — that is familiar to at least every holidaymaker or business traveller. Outside the hotel and restaurant sector, hotel classification is taken for granted and is only criticized when guests were not satisfied with the standards.

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Today, we would like to show what that looks like from “our” point of view as a hotelier: What exactly are the criteria? Who actually sets them and what is the point of the whole thing?

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Hotel classification standards and criteria in tourism markets

First of all: There is no uniform international standard. In some Scandinavian countries, for example, stars are generally not awarded; in Greece, the rating consists of long letters.

Classification is also only mandatory in two of the tourism markets that are important to us: Italy and Spain. Here, regional governments regulate the allocation of hotels on the basis of various minimum requirements.

In all other countries in Europe and also in the USA, categorization is completely voluntary.

It remains to be noted that there are no uniform regulations. It can only be said that four main aspects are considered in all categorizations: rooms, bathrooms, basic hotel services (such as reception) and catering.

Hotel classification in accordance with DEHOGA and Hotelstars Union

The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DeHoGA) sets the criteria for awarding stars in Germany.

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The aim was and is to give guests a transparent classification and evaluation of the performance and service of a hotel. In 2009, the Hotelstars Union was founded under the auspices of HOTREC, the European umbrella organization of hotel and catering associations. This community wants to harmonise hotel classification in Europe. The hotel associations of the following countries have joined Hotelstars Union: Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary.

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By the way, the classification is carried out by specially commissioned companies on behalf of the DeHoGA regional associations.

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On the Hotelstars Union website, the criteria in presented in an overview as well as extensively available for download.

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Hotel classification in the UK

Hotels in England are also rated from one to five stars. The categorization and evaluation is carried out by the AA (Automobile Association) and the national tourist offices: Visit England, Visit Wales, the Scottish and Northern Ireland Tourist Offices. The systems were all harmonized to ensure agreement and make things easy for potential guests.

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The criteria can be viewed on the AA's website. They are divided into hotel, guest accommodation and self-catering accommodation.

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In the UK, stars are generally black. In addition, the AA awards red stars for the best-rated accommodation, the “Inspector's Choice.”

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Benefits for hoteliers

The German hotel classification is a complete success with over 8,000 participating hotels. And thus a quality standard that enables hoteliers to do specific marketing. Not only German guests, but also international visitors trust the German and European system. There is great trust and reputation in the stars and allows potential guests to pre-select their preferred hotel category.

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On average, the costs for awarding the stars are far below those for simply placing ads in print media. Furthermore, they remain valid for 3 years.

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Hoteliers thus benefit from the clear marketing message of the hotel stars worldwide. Here is another voice from practice on the benefits of hotel classification.