Star struck

Hotel classification systems are a frequent bugbear for both owners and operators. Louise Oakley asked the experts to make sense of current systems — and to suggest a solution to the current confusion

The hotel business may be a global industry, but hotel classification systems are certainly not.

Some are set by governments, others by tourism bodies; some are based on a points system and others are more of a check list; while some are broad in spectrum and others, such as the ratings system in France, have only recently expanded to include a five-star category. And the differences are not just regional but also intra-regional – hotels within the same brand could well be ranked differently depending on their specific location within the GCC.

Hoteliers have long lamented the restrictions caused by star ratings and the confusion that the classification systems can cause for owner, operator and consumer, but they still exist and there seems little likelihood of them being abolished. We are not here to rewrite the rule book, therefore, but to urge revision and evolution in light of today’s market.

Leading hoteliers in the region have decided now is the time to question the systems that affect professionals at every stage of hotel development — not to mention the most important person, the guest. Later this month at The Hotel Show, a panel of experts led by Hilton Worldwide president Middle East and Africa Jean-Paul Herzog is set to question and challenge the existing classification systems.

Herzog said: “It is important because it is something that a lot of authorities or bodies are engaged in, it is something that touches every single hotel, and I think that it does need to be looked at and questioned and hopefully brought into some proper direction”.

He was not critical of the systems per se, but of the differences between each one and the confusion this caused the consumer.

“There are many [systems] that are up to date and easy to understand but they’re only understandable for the people in that country and since they’re meant to provide an international language, a lingua franca, for the hotel business, they certainly don’t do that.

“These things should not have been invented for hoteliers, they should have been invented for consumers and I’m sure that was the father of the thought — how can I easily describe my hotel to a consumer?”

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Brand power

The descriptions of hotels have evolved over the past few years as the industry has matured and diversified; no longer can consumers rely on the distinctions set by star ratings. Rarely will a five-star hotel shout about its star rating, instead defining itself by upper-upscale, luxury or deluxe. The same is true for three-star brands, which prefer terminology such as midscale, budget or limited service. Is it time for everyone to agree on these terms, universally label hotels by them and communicate their brands in this way?

Herzog responded: “You’ve hit the nail on the head. Stars don’t seem to do it for everybody or every brand and I think in many respects brands are more powerful, more consistent and certainly more international than stars under the current system can ever be”.

TRI Hospitality Consultants associate director John Podaras, a fellow panelist at The Hotel Show session, agreed that “in a competitive environment, brands will lead the way”.

But while this might be a way to overcome star-rating confusions across borders, it does not explain why hotels in markets such as Dubai are avoiding using star ratings in their positioning.

Layia Hospitality CEO Daniel Hajjar, the third panelist at The Hotel Show, said that this could often be the case with brands likely to be classified three-star because of a “phobia” of being associated with older properties that would fall under the same classification but were far from meeting the same standards.

“In the two-star and three-star market this is very crucial, because we have this problem here, we have this problem in Bahrain, in some cases in Lebanon,” said Hajjar. “All these brands that are coming in that are all about budget — basically if you don’t want the frills you don’t have to pay for it, however, the basics are all going to be excellent. We want to make sure that you [the customer] know I am not like the one next door where the room category is poor.”
Premier Inn Hotels LLC managing director Darroch Crawford agreed this was an issue.

“We are a three-star hotel. I actually don’t like star ratings. I think that star ratings are a real problem for the limited service industry as a whole because a three-star in Dubai conjures up an image of an unbranded, not very reliable hotel in Deira or Bur Dubai perhaps, and that’s not what we’re about at all,” said Crawford.