Meaning of the hotel stars: This is how the rating works
The evaluation of a hotel based on photos is usually difficult, because the stars are a little help in assessing your accommodation. After all, everything on vacation should be as perfect as possible, and this applies particularly to the hotel.
Hotels and stars - So far no uniform meaning
For most hotels, the star rating is very important. After all, many potential guests are guided by this assessment and room prices usually increase with the number of stars.
- As a hotel guest, you should know that there is no uniform global star rating system. Even in Europe, the requirements for the assessment are very different.
- In some countries, such as Germany and Norway, hotels generally do not have to be classified. In other countries, however, like Italy, an assessment of the hotels is mandatory.
- That being said, the weighting of the criteria for awarding stars differs from country to country. While the competence of the staff is an important criterion in one country, the size of the room or the equipment play a decisive role elsewhere.
- Due to the different rating templates, it is quite possible that a five-star hotel in one country in another country might only get two stars from the reviewers.
- Conclusion: You can currently only use the star system to realistically compare hotels from the same country. However, that will change - at least in part - soon.
Uniform standard for hotel stars - the Hotelstars Union
In order to bring a little order into the chaos, some European countries have now decided to introduce a uniform star system. The same requirements then apply to the rating of the hotels, so that a five star hotel in Belgium must have exactly the same standard as a corresponding accommodation in Malta.
- The so-called Hotelstars Union includes the countries: Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
- From 2020, the hotels in these countries will be rated according to a uniform catalog of criteria. Holidaymakers can then classify and compare the hotels much better based on the stars assigned. Nothing will change in the fundamental meaning of the stars:
- A star stands for a simple hotel
- Two stars symbolize a mid-range hotel
- Three stars promise an already somewhat elevated category
- A high-class hotel receives four stars
- Five stars are the highest category that a hotel can achieve and promise pure luxury.