Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experience as a whole. The terms "grading", "rating", and "classification" are used to generally refer to the same concept.
There is a wide variety of rating schemes used by different organizations around the world. Many have a system involving stars, with a greater number of stars indicating greater luxury. Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, launched its star rating system in 1958. The American Automobile Association (AAA) and their affiliated bodies use diamonds instead of stars to express hotel and restaurant rating levels.
Traditional systems focus on what goods and services are available, including food services, entertainment, view, spas and fitness centers. Room size, ease of access, and location may be also be considered, and some standards also incorporate quality of design and service. Some consider assessments that lean heavily on amenities disadvantageous to smaller hotels, whose quality of accommodation could fall into one class but whose lack of an item such as an elevator or a spa prevent it from reaching a higher categorization.
History
Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, launched its star rating system in 1958. The Swiss hotel rating was the first non-governmental formal hotel classification system, beginning in 1979. It influenced hotel classification in Austria and Germany. The formal hotel classification of the DEHOGA (German Hotel and Restaurant Association) started on 1 August 1996, with 80% of guests citing hotel stars as the main criterion in hotel selection. This implementation influenced the creation of a common European Hotelstars rating system, which started in 2010. In 2024, the Michelin Guide started awarding one, two, and three keys to highly rated hotels.
Standards of hotel classification
Leading Hotels of the World Historically, luxury hotels have used the membership in The Leading Hotels of the World to document regular inspection on an additional level. This organization was formed in 1928 and reorganized in 1971, introducing a worldwide inspection service.
European Hotelstars Union The HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe) is an umbrella organization for 39 associations from 24 European countries. At a conference in Bergen in 2004, the partners drafted a hotel classification system in order to harmonize their national standards. In 2007 HOTREC launched the European Hospitality Quality scheme (EHQ) which has since accredited the existing national inspection bodies for hotel rating. Some member countries set standards by law, including Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Hungary. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the rating is defined by the respective hotel industry association. Under the patronage of HOTREC, the hotel associations of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland created the Hotelstars Union. On 14 September 2009, the Hotelstars Union classification system was established at a conference in Prague. This system became effective in these countries in January 2010, with the exception of Hungary, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, who have chosen later dates for the change. Since then, more countries have joined the HOTREC hotelstars system, including Estonia (2011), Latvia (2011), Lithuania (2011), Luxembourg (2011), Malta (2012), Belgium (2013), Denmark (2013), Greece (2013), Liechtenstein (2015), Slovenia (2017), Azerbaijan (2020), and Georgia (2021).
For hotels with three to five stars, the Hotelstars Union will use "mystery guests" to check the service quality regularly. The European Hotelstars Union system is based on the earlier German hotelstars system that had widely influenced the hotel classifications in central Europe, with five stars and a Superior mark to flag extras. Instead of a strict minimum in room size and required shower facilities (e.g. a bath tub in a four-star hotel) there is a catalogue of criteria with 7 qualification areas encompassing 247 elements, where some are mandatory for a star and others optional. The main criteria are in quality management, wellness, and sleeping accommodation. In the catalogue of criteria each entry is associated with a number of points – each Hotelstars level requires a minimal sum of points besides some criteria being obligatory for the level. The minimum requirement for the Superior flag requires the same sum of points as for the next Hotelstars level, which was not awarded, owing to at least one obligatory requirement being left out.
Hotelstar Mandatory criteria Tourist Reception service Cashless payment Extended breakfast Beverage offer in the hotel Deposit possibility 100% of the rooms with shower/WC or bath tub/WC Daily room cleaning 100% of the rooms with colour-TV together with remote control WiFi Internet access both in the rooms and in the public areas Table and chair Soap or body wash Bath towels Offer of sanitary products (e.g. toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit) Superior Tourist The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The bathroom facilities are usually at the same level as for two stars hotels but built from cheaper materials. The cost for regular inspection by independent associations is waived as well. Standard In addition to the single star (★) hotels: Bilingual staff (e.g. German/English) Breakfast buffet Reading light next to the bed Bath essence or shower gel Bath and hand towels Linen shelves Offer of sewing kit and shoe polish utensils Superior Standard The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The Standard-Superior does usually offer the same service level as three-star hotels but the interiors of the hotel are smaller and cheaper so that the three stars were not to be awarded by the inspection body. A two-star superior does not require mystery guesting. Comfort In addition to the standard star (★★) hotels: Reception opened 10 hours, accessible by phone or digital communication 24 hours from inside and outside Three piece lounge suite at the reception, luggage service Beverage offer in the room Telephone on demand Audio or multimedia entertainment system Heating facility in the bathroom, hair-dryer, cleansing tissue Dressing mirror, place to put the luggage/suitcase Sewing kit, shoe polish utensils, laundry and ironing service Additional pillow and additional blanket on demand Systematic complaint management system Bilingual website owned by hotel Superior Comfort The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The accommodation facilities for a superior hotel need to be on a modern level and fully renovated which is checked regularly. First Class In addition to the comfort star (★★★) hotels: Reception opened 16 hours, accessible by phone 24 hours from inside and outside Lobby with seats and beverage service Breakfast buffet or breakfast menu card via room service Minibar, maxibar or 16 hours beverages via room service Upholstered chair/couch with side table Bath robe and slippers on demand Cosmetic products (e.g. shower cap, nail file, cotton swabs), vanity mirror, tray of a large scale in the bathroom TV has international channels available First Class Superior The Superior flag is provided when the first class hotel has a proven high quality not only in the rooms. The superior hotels provide for additional facilities in the hotel like a sauna or a workout room. The quality is checked regularly by mystery guesting of an external inspection service. Luxury In addition to the first class (★★★★) hotels: Reception opened 24 hours, multilingual staff Doorman-service or valet parking Concierge, page boy Shuttle service, also called Limousine service. Luggage service Personalized greeting for each guest with fresh flowers or a present in the room Minibar and food and beverage offer via room service during 24 hours Internet device in the room on request Safe in the room Ironing service (return within 1 hour), shoe polish service Turndown service in the evening Superior Luxury The Luxury star hotels need to attain high expectations of an international guest service. The Superior Luxury star is only awarded with a system of intensive guest care.
Australia In Australia, the industry accommodation rating scheme and Star Rating trademarks, known as Star Ratings Australia, are owned by the Australian Tourism Industry Council. A Star Rating represents the quality and condition of guest facilities which is determined by 200 criteria. Star Ratings are awarded to hotels, motels, serviced apartments, self-catering, hosted accommodation and caravan-holiday parks. The scheme uses physical visits, reviews, and mystery guest stays to make their accreditation on the accommodation's ratings. Australia's star ratings have been operating since the 1950s as both an accreditation as well as a booking service. It was first owned by the state based automobile clubs including NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAC, RAA, and RACT. It was then organized by the Australian Automobile Association Tourism (AAA Tourism) as a peak body. However, the booking service in the motoring clubs was not continued and later the annual accommodation guide book ceased to be printed with the accommodation guide going online. AAA Tourism closed in 2013, but Star Ratings Australia continued as an inspection and star rating service only, as well as an accommodation website.
In 2015 Star Ratings Australia became one of the first independent accommodation classification systems in the world to incorporate consumer opinions. Their website also shows a Travellers' Rating which is presented in parallel to the independent Star Rating and is an aggregate of past guest ratings and reviews from more than 100 websites in 45 different languages. The rating is shown as a 10-point score. Weighting applies to the popularity of the source site and the date of the last guest review. The William Angliss Institute in Melbourne developed an independent benchmarking framework to show if a property has met or exceeded guest expectations. On 28 February 2017, Michael Reed, CEO of Australian Motoring Services, advised clients of the closure of Star Ratings Australia brand and asked to remove star rating and automobile club logos from their accommodation and promotional information by June 2017. It was said that competition from online travel agencies such as TripAdvisor and their customer rating system led to its demise. The brand was then transferred to the Australian Tourism Industry Council. In early 2019, Star Ratings were rebranded under the council's "Quality Tourism" Accreditation Program. Star Ratings in Australia stand for independently reviewed quality standards and are defined as such: