Christian de Barrin CEO HOTREC

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

MEMBERSHIP

★ HOTREC-membership = pre-requisite ★ only nation-wide membership, no regions ★ current official observers: France, Italy, ★ official requests from countries worldwide

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

HISTORY

1994

Opposition to any harmonised system – Historical, cultural and geographical reasons

2004 - 2009

change 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

2007

Corporation of Austria – Germany – Switzerland

Dec. 2009

Hotelstars Union under the patronage of HOTREC with 7 founding members

7 FOUNDING MEMBERS IN 2009

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTEL CLASSIFICATION

Jan. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

New hotel classification system: first implentation HSU-enlargement: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg HSU-enlargement: Malta first South European country joining the common star classification HSU-enlargement: Belgium, Denmark, Greece Update of criteria catalogue for 2015-2019

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

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

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

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

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.)

Structure of the steps in the system

• 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 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 • “À la carte”-restaurant • 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 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

A COMMON IDENTITY / SIGNS

REVISION OF THE HOTEL CLASSIFICATION

Guest needs are continously changing

Market research 2013 new Approach

Let’s ask them directly

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

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

MAKE YOUR OWN TEST

A free testing tool is available on www.hotelstars.eu

Check out how many stars you would get under the Hotelstars Union system!

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

For any further detailed questions, please contact the Hotelstars Union Secretariat: Contact: Klára Hájková AHR ČR Revoluční 13, Prague 1 [email protected] +420 773 236 890

Thank you for your attention!