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Christian de Barrin CEO HOTREC Slide 2 ABOUT THE HOTELSTARS UNION 15 members: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland 180 million inhabitants 30.000 classified hotels until 2014 www.hotelstars.eu Slide 3 MEMBERSHIP HOTREC-membership = pre-requisite only nation-wide membership, no regions current official observers: France, Italy, official requests from countries worldwide Slide 4 GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE Managing Board (two members per country), Secretariat One country one vote Unanimous decisions Common criteria (>99%) 270 harmonized criteria 21 HOTREC-principles Marketing, brand, IT high quality standards under the patronage of HOTREC Slide 5 HISTORY 1994 Opposition to any harmonised system Historical, cultural and geographical reasons 2004 - 2009change of position, adoption of common principles Recognition of need for a harmonised system Avoid top-down approach do it ourselves Work towards satisfying these needs of consumers, Tour operators and Travel Agents as well as of the European institutions 2007Corporation of Austria Germany Switzerland Dec. 2009 Hotelstars Union under the patronage of HOTREC with 7 founding members Slide 6 7 FOUNDING MEMBERS IN 2009 Slide 7 DEVELOPMENT OF HOTEL CLASSIFICATION Jan. 2010 New hotel classification system: first implentation 2011 HSU-enlargement: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg 2012HSU-enlargement: Malta first South European country joining the common star classification 2013 HSU-enlargement: Belgium, Denmark, Greece 2014Update of criteria catalogue for 2015-2019 Slide 8 A RECOGNISED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM European institutions recognise the huge work HOTREC and its members have undertaken to harmonise hotel classification in Europe HOTREC Members provide full support to this industry driven approach Together with the direct involvement of the guests and consumers across Europe a classification system can be developed to satisfy real market needs Slide 9 HOW IT WORKS? FUNCTIONING AND RULES Different types of systems in Hotelstars Union: Mandatory (e.g. Lithuania) Voluntary (e.g. Germany) Privately run (e.g. Sweden, Switzerland) State run (e.g. Malta, Belgium, Luxembourg) Hotelstars Union classification system replaced the existing national system Slide 10 SOME OF THE 21 COMMON PRINCIPLES Compliance with legal requirements Cleanliness and proper maintenance TOs and TAs to be encouraged to use official classification Number of stars from 1 to 5 Regular and onsite controls Possibility for hotels to appeal against classification decision Slide 11 Official stars vs. non-official stars Meaning of stars: what to expect in the hotel Which infrastructure and services An objective and verified evaluation of the offer Transparent comparability of the offer across Europe under the Hotelstars Union A brand especially for smaller hotels Official objective hardware evaluation + verified subjective reviews best solution Different meaning of stars Not known which facilities and services to expect Mix of objective and subjective elements in one Criteria not transparent Not always matching the official star category - confusion Slide 12 CRITERIA Mix of mandatory and voluntary criteria Avoiding mandatory architecture criteria Criteria in relation to: Rooms, Services offered, Gastronomy, Event facilities, Quality management (complaint handling, guest reviews, etc.) Slide 13 Structure of the steps in the system Slide 14 All rooms with shower/ toilet in the room Daily room cleaning Expanded breakfast A public telephone/ fax service available Beverages available Non-smoking area in the breakfast- room Soap or body wash All rooms have colour -TV Deposit possibility Breakfast buffet Bath towels Bath essences or shower gel Seats according to number of beds Reading light next to the bed Cashless payment Hygienic articles available Linen shelves Reception opened 12 hours; 24 hours within call Luggage service Beverages offered in rooms Telephone in the room, internet access Restaurant Systematic complaint handling Bilingual employees Hair dryer, additional pillow on demand Reception opened 18 hours; 24 hours within call Minibar or 24 hours room service Bath robe and slippers on demand Cosmetic mirror Systematic client inquiry Comfortable arm chair / couch Laundry and ironing services Hotel lobby, restaurant, hotel bar Sewing service la carte-restaurant Reception opened 24 hours, multilingual staff, concierge 24 hours meals and drinks with room service Suites Internet-PC in the room, qualified IT-support service Reception hall, hotel bar Mystery guesting Personalized guest welcome with flowers and/or sweets in the room Laundry and ironing services within 12 hours, shoe polish service Turndown service in the evening Luggage service Slide 15 A COMMON IDENTITY / SIGNS Slide 16 REVISION OF THE HOTEL CLASSIFICATION Slide 17 Guest needs are continously changing Slide 18 Market research 2013 new Approach Lets ask them directly Slide 19 REVISED CRITERIA APPLICABLE FROM 2015 five-years-term (now valid from 2010-2014) Revision process for new criteria 2015 started in 2013 With the help of Swiss University St. Gallen Open online survey among European citizens Study based on this survey Slide 20 PROCESS Revision process focused on following aspects: Better sleeping comfort; Better online visibility provided by hotel websites; Better telecommunication opportunities also in lower category hotels; Better food and beverages availability in all types of hotels; Keeping with the pace of time Test classifications in several countries New criteria to be implemented contiuosly from 1 January 2015 Slide 21 MAKE YOUR OWN TEST A free testing tool is available on www.hotelstars.euwww.hotelstars.eu Check out how many stars you would get under the Hotelstars Union system! Slide 22 BENEFITS FOR CUSTOMERS Guiding stars for guests in the universe of offers Possibility to know which infrastructure and services to be expected from a hotel An objective and verified evaluation of the offer Comparability of the offer across Europe under the Hotelstars Union A brand especially for smaller hotels Slide 23 For any further detailed questions, please contact the Hotelstars Union Secretariat: Contact: Klra Hjkov AHR R Revolun 13, Prague 1 hajkova@ahrcr.cz +420 773 236 890 Slide 24 Thank you for your attention!