How are hotel graded?

Degree of luxury is the major factor in determining the level of a hotel. Hotel is graded in various ways in different countries. It is common to hear of star-rating hotel, while there are several other ways such as letter grading from ‘A’ to ‘F’ and diamond rating. The higher the star ratings, the luxurious the hotel is.

There isn’t yet an international standard to classify hotel. Some countries have rating by a single public standard or defined by laws. Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain and Hungary are the examples. On the other hand, the rating is sometimes defined by the respective hotel industry association using a 5-star system as being practiced in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and UK while US employs the diamond rating in some states. Some hotels may self evaluate and give themselves the rating. Therefore, the consumers can be easily misled or confused by the rating. One should keep in mind that two hotels with the same rating do not necessarily mean they offer the same facilities.

Though five-star rating is the most commonly heard, six-star or seven-star are also in use. For British system, AA (Automobile Association) rating system is employed, while the American version is AAA. However, there are several hotels categorized as six-star, and only three hotels around the world are said to be seven-star.

The characteristics and general services provided by a star hotel (based on AA Recognition):
-One-star: small, independent-owned, with family atmosphere; services are provided by the owner or the family members informally; limited facilities; bedrooms may not equipped with a bathroom; cleanliness, maintenance, and comfort are fairly acceptable.

-Two-star: medium-sized and offer more extensive facilities; guests expect more comfortable and well-equipped accommodation compared to one-star hotel; offer wider range of straightforward services, such as food and drink.

-Three-star: having great quality and a wide range of facilities; reception and other public rooms are spacious; the hotel’s restaurant also caters for outsiders; all bedrooms will have fully en suite bath and shower rooms; provided with comfort and equipments such as a hair dryer, direct dial telephone, toiletries in bathroom; room service is also expected.

-Four-star: degree of luxury, quality furnishings, décor and equipments are expected; bedrooms are more spacious, well-designed, and luxuriously decorated; hotel staffs are enough to meet the consumers’ demands; services include porterage, 24 hour room service, laundry and dry-cleaning.

-Five-star: more spacious and luxurious than lower level of hotel, which matches the best international standard; services are formal and carefully supervised; staff is with high technical skills, knowledgeable, helpful, courteous and attentive.

The six-star hotels include: Crown Macau, St. Regis Shanghai Hotel, Gold Coast in Australia, Seoul Park Hyatt in South Korea, and so on.

And the seven-star hotels include: Town House Galleria in Milan, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

References:
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(classification)
-www.onecaribbean.org/content/files/hotelcalssification(1).pdf