the joint wto & ih&ra; study on hotel classification - Hotel Designs

IND.D.004.16 April 2004The country’s accommodation sector had very high standards in both facilities and service and itwas common opinion that <strong>the</strong>re was no need to introduce a classification system at that time.Current situationHORESTA introduced <strong>the</strong> new Hotel Classification System in Denmark on 14 May 1996 andapproved <strong>the</strong> classification of member hotels by <strong>the</strong> star scheme. This scheme is reserved forHORESTA members. All Danish hotels associated with HORESTA which have at least 8 roomsare classified on a scale <strong>ra</strong>nging from 0-5 stars. The classification scheme is based upon objectivecriteria, i.e. <strong>the</strong> presence or absence or a wide <strong>ra</strong>nge of facilities and service. The number of starsis <strong>the</strong>refore not indicative of subjective features such as atmosphere, quality of food and service,location or view.The Danish Tourist Board welcomed this new classification scheme, firstly, because such ascheme had long been called for by both customers and tour ope<strong>ra</strong>tors; secondly, becauseexperience from abroad showed that a star classification scheme was a tool for improving hotelstandards. This was a quality improvement that was crucial if Danish hotels were to hold <strong>the</strong>ir ownin <strong>the</strong> increasingly competitive international tourist market.Why a Star-<strong>ra</strong>ting?Everywhere in <strong>the</strong> world guests are accustomed to inquire about hotels in terms of <strong>the</strong> number ofstars. Even though <strong>the</strong> criteria vary from one country to <strong>the</strong> ano<strong>the</strong>r, a national classificationnever<strong>the</strong>less offers customers greater opportunity of finding a hotel which conforms to <strong>the</strong>standard desired, <strong>the</strong>reby avoiding <strong>the</strong> wrong choice of hotel – something which is disagreeable forboth parties. The most important objective for HORESTA was to satisfy <strong>the</strong>ir customers’ wishes aswell as <strong>the</strong>y can.Moreover, experience from o<strong>the</strong>r countries showed that in many instances classification was auseful aid for a hotel manager is interested in improving his/her product. With <strong>the</strong> criteria andinspection report in hand it is easier to make improvements precisely where guests will gain mostfrom <strong>the</strong>m.Role of <strong>the</strong> Classification Boardο Lays down <strong>the</strong> criteria according to which <strong>the</strong> classification will be undertakenο Ensures that <strong>the</strong>se criteria are consistently adapted to developments taking place in<strong>the</strong> worldο Has <strong>the</strong> initiative of discussing alte<strong>ra</strong>tions to criteria and taking decisions about suchalte<strong>ra</strong>tionsWhat does <strong>the</strong> classification scheme cost?HORESTA contributes financially to <strong>the</strong> establishment of <strong>the</strong> scheme. Running <strong>the</strong> classificationscheme will subsequently be paid for by <strong>the</strong> hotels, according to <strong>the</strong> following criteria:ο Hotels with less than 20 rooms/ apartmentsο Hotels with at least 20 rooms/ apartmentsο Annual price <strong>ra</strong>teο Annual ext<strong>ra</strong> charge per room/ apartmentsThese charges, to be paid by quarterly installments, were instituted as of March 1997.Five categoriesA prerequisite for classification is that <strong>the</strong> hotel is deemed to have reached an ove<strong>ra</strong>ll satisfactorystandard of cleanliness and maintenance.The HORESTA classification scheme is not based on an assessment of <strong>the</strong> hotels, but is arecording of actual conditions.If "Hotel Garni" is displayed on <strong>the</strong> sign or listed here on www.danishhotels.dk, it means that <strong>the</strong>hotel restau<strong>ra</strong>nt usually only serves breakfast. A small selection of <strong>the</strong> more than 100 criteria isshown below:- 71 -