Classifying a hotel in India is no easy feat, especially in today’s world where the difference between four and five star hotels is a little opaque. A quick example of this opacity can be tested with a basic bath tub – most hotels, four stars upwards, have one, despite it being only a ‘desirable’ requirement and not a ‘necessary’ one. Hotel chains are constantly pushing the envelope and looking to upgrade their facilities in order to attract, retain and sometimes even steal guests to increase their own businesses.HotelierIndia.com talks to industry veterans to gain an insight into important issues including why you should classify your hotel, how to do it and why six and seven star hotels are only as real as Peter Pan.
When one thinks of how hotels are classified, more often than not, ideas of a fashionably posh gentleman come to mind.
A gentleman who is wined and dined and outrageously fussed over by innumerable hotel staff; exotic foods are served, champagne becomes the order of the day and waiters dive to grab the napkin that has fallen from his lap. He is a member of the hotel star-rating committee. He is king.
But any hotel classification committee member will quell this notion for you in a matter of seconds. In truth, it couldn’t be more different. The Indian classification system is considered by many in the hotel industry to be among the best in the world.
The Indian Ministry of Tourism, a government body, is in charge of classifying hotels across the country. Everyone swears by it including several hotel general managers, hotel chain board members and hotel association members.
What is a hotel rating system?
Hotel ratings or classifications are systems that rank hotels, mostly, according to quality (the French system is the only one in the world that ranks them on quantity).
The idea behind hotel classifications is to assist guests in choosing the kind of hotel and budget they would like to stay in while making it amply clear what sorts of facilities and services they can expect during their stay.
Backing this reason is The Oberoi Group president Liam Lambert, who quantifies it in a rather creative manner.
He says, “Classification is actually in the mind of the consumer. They’re the ones who need to know what they can expect. But, what’s interesting is, if it’s a consumer need, why is there no government body that classifies a car for example into a category A or B or C? Why is it only hotels and restaurants?”
While we can only wait for a government rating system for all sorts of goods and services to come into existence in the near future, what we can witness happening this year is a trial run of the first World Hotel Rating System.
The Indian Rating System
The hotel rating system in India is considered by many hoteliers – those who have worked in the country and abroad – to be one of the better rating systems in existence.
Speaking to Hotelier India, the Ministry of Tourism’s additional director general Devesh Chaturvedi – who is also the gentleman in charge of the classification guidelines – feels that the Indian system is “very functional.”
He says: “It works well and is efficient because it is an evolving system. We move with the times and the necessities of the moment. We revise it every two years so that we’re not a redundant system.”
Apart from the law-makers, even those who are on the receiving end feel the system is a good one. The JW Marriott Mumbai general manager Guy Godet, a French national who has worked in several places around the world including South Korea and Kuala Lumpur is a keen supporter of the Indian classification system.
“I think it is very well done,” says Godet. “It is also taken very seriously. The committee that comes in to asses us is very knowledgeable and experienced. You’re informed well in advance of their arrival and it’s not as stressful as one would imagine something like this to be.”
When compared to international rating systems Godet feels that India still holds on to its place among the top ratings. Comparing it to other Asian countries like Indonesia and Thailand, which he says are good systems in their own right, the Indian one is very “thorough.”
The rating process
In India hotels are rated by The Hotel & Restaurant Approval & Classification Committee (HRACC), which falls under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism. The committee is further divided into two wings, one that assesses one to three star hotels and another that assess three to five star hotels.
The committee is made up of eight members from various sub-sectors in the hospitality industry including one nominee each from the department of tourism in the Central government, the state tourism department, tour operators, travel agents, a hotel management institute, a nominee from the hotel industry who is considered a specialist in the hospitality industry and an FHRAI member.
The committee contacts a hotel that has applied for classification and books a time to visit. The assessment takes around three hours where the committee usually has a meal in one of the restaurants and inspects the hotel grounds.
They assess the hotel based on 17 broad categories, which have a further 108 sub-categories. On a very general level, some points that are considered in establishing a standard are food services, entertainment, view, room variations such as size and additional amenities, spas and fitness facilities, hygiene, ease of access and location.
“In the earlier days, inspectors would actually check into a hotel for a night or two in order to assess the hotel,” says current FHRAI president Rajindera Kumar, who is also an old hand at classifying hotels including chains like the Hyatt, The Oberoi Group, The Taj Group and the Marriott.
“But now that process has changed a little due to the needs of the day. We don’t follow the check-list exactly otherwise everyone would be able to achieve the star they want. We put in a little more.
The process now doesn’t take more than three hours. We go in, meet the staff, have a quick bite at either the coffee shop or at the restaurant, watch the service, check hygiene levels and various other points and then we leave. It’s quick, it’s thorough and it’s convenient for everyone,” he adds.
But is that enough and does the committee hire guests who double up as secret agents who lurk around in the shadows spying on hotel operations?
“One already knows the character of a hotel, so we pretty much know what to expect and what the standards are,” explains Kumar denying any such practice.
“Also we mostly take guest feedback on hotels. We don’t make use of spies to get us information. With social media being as advanced as it is now, we get all the feedback we need.”
Losing ratings
Have you ever had the misfortune of sitting in a restaurant waiting for that scrumptious meal to brought out to you and then you see a rat run across the floor or a cockroach wander behind a cupboard shelf? Surely that would count towards a hotel losing a star or two?
“Losing ratings doesn’t happen very often because we try to support any hotel as much as we can to avoid such a circumstance,” says FHRAI ex-president BK Gupta.
“We give them opportunities by pointing out their shortcomings if at all, so that they can improve on their limitations. If they don’t take heed then of course they lose their ratings but that is rare.”
Hotels tend to lose their ratings for very serious offenses, misconduct or illegal activities. “Hotels can lose ratings for things like prostitution, gambling and drugs,” says Manbeer Choudhary, who was also an inspection committee member and an FHRAI ex-president.
“Any of the three activities can cause hotels to lose their ratings. The department of tourism is well empowered to withdraw
the stars.”
Kumar highlights some other areas that should be taken care of, in order to retain one’s stars, including guest feedback which he says is most important, electricity supply, maintenance and upkeep, housekeeping and hygiene.
“I remember once, I checked into this hotel and it had a lizard in the room. I hate lizards,” he laughs, “I called the housekeeping staff and they brought into a spray gun to get the lizard out. While a hotel could lose its rating for something like this, I was impressed by the efficiency and speed of the staff.”
Validity and Cost
The star rating that a hotel receives is valid for five years and applications for reclassification are required to be handed in three months before the expiry of the approval rating. The cost of getting the hotel classified is minimal and ranges from INR6000 for a one-star rating to INR25,000 for a five-star deluxe rating.
The cost involved to get a five-star rating is petty change for most hotels in that category. But does this mean the ratings are any less than star ratings anywhere else in the world?
Profusely rubbishing the thought is a previous FHRAI president Rajesh Mishra. “I have travelled a lot and I can say this without a doubt, that our services and properties are much better than European hotels. We have much higher standards and most of our hotels offer personalised services, which is sorely lacking abroad.”
With Swiss hospitality schools being top-globally, one would imagine the ratings there would be phenomenally better than the Indian system, but Kumar says no.
“I think our rating is more comprehensive. If it is fairly and squarely done, it is one of the most practical systems in the world. There are no favours being done or taken, nothing dodgy; and most of the time it is a unanimous decision,” he says.
Whether it is Europe, the US or other Asian markets, hospitality can mean different things and have different standards according to various cultures.
And this is where the French system of classification, which only judges on quantity rather than quality, makes sense. Quality is a matter of opinion according to the French law-makers. In order to better understand this, let’s take a look at some of the systems followed in Europe and the US.
European System
Star ratings in Europe are given mostly by independent private organisations specialising in hotel classifications or by local government agencies.
In 2004, an umbrella organisation made up of 39 associations from 24 European countries was formed, called the Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe (Hotrec).
A special hotel classification system was drawn-up in order to harmonise the national standards. In 2007 Hotrec launched the European Hospitality Quality scheme (EHQ) which has since accredited the existing national inspection bodies for hotel rating in these countries.
A further development has been the creation of the Hotelstars Union classification system under the watchful eye of Hotrec. The hotels associations of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland came together in September 2009 to form this at a conference in Prague.
In January 2010 the system came into effect in most of these countries. Hungary is expected to provide the legal provisions later this year while Switzerland and the Netherlands will switch to the new system in 2011.
The Hotelstars Union classification is based heavily on the German classification system which had a total of five stars and a Superior mark to flag-up additional facilities and services. There are 21 criteria including 270 elements with mandatory and optional requirement. For hotels with three to five stars, the Hotelstars Union uses “mystery guests” to check that the service quality is maintained.
The British System
In the UK, hotels are rated from one star to five stars. The only grading schemes in operation are those operated by the AA (Automobile Association) and the national tourist boards; Visit England, Visit Wales, the Scottish Tourist Board and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
In addition to the usual one to five star rating, the AA also awards red stars to the highest-rated, which are deemed ‘Inspectors’ Choice’.
The French System
France’s public tourist board, which rates hotels, changed its rating system in 2009 from a four star system to a five star system.
The American System
The United States also follows the one to five star system and sometimes uses a half star as an increment. Here too, hotels are rated by several organisations. National consumer travel organisations and guidebooks assign star ratings to hotels, but each uses its own set of criteria.
Every system has its pros and cons and is designed with the particular country’s needs in mind. Another ex-president of the FHRAI, SK Khullar has a more humble view on the Indian system when compared to the West.
He feels the Indian system is still not at par with international ones. “We are almost at par with them [international rating systems], especially in the metros. We tell our hotels to be more competitive in order to be at the same level as them.”
Problems faced and Changes to be made in the Indian System
No system comes without its set of problems. The Indian hotel rating system, even though well executed and forward-thinking, does have a few issues. One major factor affecting hotels that have been classified is the ongoing struggle of being taxed on printed tariffs.
“Yes, we understand this problem only too well and we’re in talks to see how we can resolve this,” says Chaturvedi.
When a hotel is classified, it has to print its tariff and is taxed on this rate irrespective of the current market rate. Non-classified hotels dodge this. However, classified hotels also get certain tax incentives that non-classified hotels don’t get. This becomes a bit of a catch-22 situation.
“When hotels are classified, they have to publish their tariff rates and the luxury tax is charged on this rate card,” Chaturvedi explains.
“We’re taking this up with the government and hopefully we should see a change coming in soon. Many state governments have already begun to link classification with tax incentives, in order to promote classification. The ones that are not classified miss out on these incentives.”
Apart from tax benefits, Godet says that getting your hotel classified also helps to easily attain various licenses. “If you don’t classify your hotel, it has an impact on your license and permits. In fact, all your licenses are at risk and open to scrutiny if you’re not classified.”
Another thorn in the side of the hospitality industry is the unorganized sector. “The unorganised sector has been creating problems since day one,” says Kumar.
“These are the guys who create a problem. Some people say we don’t want to be classified and they’re happy providing inferior services. The main culprits her are the one-, two- and three-star hotels along with the various guest houses. They should be monitored.
At the moment there is no control over these hotels. Only when you have something bad reported on by the media in one of these hotels do people wake up and by that time country earns a bad reputation for encouraging these sorts of places.
We’re trying to bring this sector up for the Common Wealth Games. They should be regulated and governed by the country. And you can’t just tag yourself a budget or mid-market or boutique hotel either – these are official classifications that are given out.
“Also you cannot extend your facilities beyond what your classification is and the tariff should be regulated. They have to adhere to standards or close shop. For example, you know what to expect from a Ginger or a Lemon Tree. By 2012 or 2013 those who don’t toe the line will definitely be put of business,” he adds.
In an industry where a government body is heavily involved, changes could take a while to come through. Research is vital and a good place to start would be assessing how many hotels in the country are classified.
“As far as luxury hotels are concerned, 99% of them are classified,” says Chaturvedi. “But for others like budget hotels for example it’s difficult to say, because many of them are happy with a few customers and continue to provide inferior service.”
According to Chaturvedi, the new guidelines will also focus heavily on environment friendly practices.
In the current classification guidelines, the minimum requirement across all stars is for hotels to change bed and bath linen on a daily basis.
This is in stark contrast to current practices in hotels today where guests are encouraged to reuse their towels and bed linen to save on water and energy that goes into the cleaning process.
“Only a few days ago we had a work shop focusing on sustainable tourism,” says Chaturvedi. “Apart from saving energy, we looked at ways to cut down on water usage and the bed and towel issue was brought up. We’re moving forward very quickly. In fact for things like this, we can make the change immediately. We don’t have to wait for the next two years.”
Kumar who has been on several inspection mission across the country says hotels now-a-days are professional and environment conscious enough to encourage guests to reuse linen.
“During our inspection and interaction with professional hotels, we’ve noticed that they never fail to demonstrate how they’ve improved on energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness. Today if I’m going to a hotel and I’m staying for let’s say three or four nights, it is absolutely wrong to change my bed linen daily. I think they can make it alternative.”
Six & Seven Star Ratings – Myth or not?
Some hotels in various parts of the world have a six- and seven-star rating. Is this just a marketing ploy or are there such ratings? Another FHRAI ex-president BK Gupta says such claims over six and seven star rating are not worth noticing, at least within India.
“We only have 5-star deluxe which is the highest rating in India. Hotels claiming anything above this are wrong and incorrect. In addition to those we have palaces and resorts but 5-star deluxe is the highest.”
The hotel that is widely accepted to have coined the seven star idea is the Burj Al Arab in the emirate of Dubai, which boasts additional facilities like a helipad and an underwater restaurant.
But in today’s world when hotels have more than what is required to maintain their ratings is there a need to help them stand out from the crowd by introducing a new star rating?
“We do not have anything above five-star deluxe at the moment,” says Chaturvedi.
“But we’re in talks at to make a slight change to the hotel ratings. We may include a certain classification in the revised guidelines which come out in 2011, where a special rating for a hotel that provides a niche product is given. It will not be higher than the five star deluxe rating, but will have, let’s say an additional rating or symbol,” he adds.
Why should you get your hotel classified?
The Ministry of Tourism is the government body that rates your hotel between 1 to 5 stars in India. Though you pay more tax once rated, it certifies your hotel and makes it credible. It also helps in getting all required licenses to legally run your business.
Did you know?
- The world’s oldest hotel according to Guinness Book of World Records is Hoshi Ryokan in the village of Awazu, Japan (pictured above). It dates back to AD 717, when an inn was built near a hot-water spring said to have miraculous healing properties. The Ryokan has evolved through the centuries. Today, it offers100 rooms and can accommodate up to 450 guests.
- The French hotel rating system does not measure quality but quantity. Why? Quality is in part a matter of opinion while quantity is measurable and verifiable. The system uses a total of 22 criteria and sub-criteria to measure the presence or absence of certain features in a hotel, and the square footage it devotes to various spaces.
- There is no such thing as six or seven star ratings. Five-star-deluxe is the highest rating one can attain.
- Despite the hotels being around for almost 1300 years, there is still no global standardised star rating system.
- Classifications such as Tourist, Budget, Business and Boutique are more widely accepted as hotel types, rather than hotel ratings.
14 Indian hotels among the Small Luxury Hotels of the World
- Chrome Hotel, Kolkata
- Infinity Corbett Wilderness, Pant Nagar
- The Kenilworth Beach Resort & Spa, Goa
- Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kottayam
- The Lalit Temple View, Khajuraho
- The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra
- The Oberoi Rajvilas, Rajasthan
- The Oberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan (pictured)
- The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Rajasthan
- Old Harbour Hotel Fort, Cochin
- Orange County Coorg, Mysore
- Orange County, Kabini
- The Paul Bangalore, Bangalore
- The Raj Palace, Jaipur
9 Indian hotels among The Leading hotels of the world
- Rambagh Palace, Jaipur (41 rooms, 33 suites)
- Taj Coromandel, Chennai (183 rooms, 22 suites)
- Taj Krishna, Andhra Pradesh (245 rooms, 13 suites)
- Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur (66 Rooms, 17 Suites)
- Taj Lands End, Mumbai (460 rooms, 33 suites)
- Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai (228 rooms, 50 suites)
- The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi (266 rooms, 28 suites)
- The Taj West End, Bangalore (104 rooms, 18 suites)
- Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur (22 rooms, 41 suites)
World Hotel Rating
Despite hotels being around for almost 1300 years, no international hotel classification system has been formulated as yet and all attempts to unify the existing ones have failed.
However, this year a test period is scheduled for the World Hotel Rating (WHR) project, which hopes to set international classification standards and rating criteria for hotels across the world.
WHR intends to play a key role in the development of quality hotel services, as well as equitable and sustainable tourism and the protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
A guide to knowiing your stars
1 Star
These hotels are small and usually managed and operated by the owner. The atmosphere will be more personal and the accommodations basic.
2 Stars
These hotels are generally part of a chain that offers consistent quality and limited amenities. They are small or medium in size and rooms will have a phone and TV. Room service is not a given but a small restaurant on site can be expected.
3 Stars
These hotels are usually located next to major expressways, business centres or shopping areas. They offer spacious rooms and decorative lobbies. On-site restaurants may be average in size, but will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Valet and room service are usually available.
4 Stars
One can expect formal and large hotels with excellent facilities. Above-average service, beautifully furnished rooms, restaurants, room service, valet parking, fitness center and a concierge are some amenities to expect.
5 Stars
These hotels are made to pamper. They offer the highest degree of personal service and elegance. The rooms are equipped with quality linens, all electronic gadgets, Jacuzzi tubs and in-room video facilities. There are multiple restaurants on site with extensive, gourmet menus, and room-service is also available 24-7. A fitness center, swimming pool, valet parking and concierge service are mandatory for these hotels to attain this rating.
Fees
1 Star INR6000
2 Star INR8000
3 Star INR10,000
4 Star INR15,000
5 Star INR20,000
5 Star Deluxe INR25,000
Heritage INR15,000
Top 10 points inspectors look out for while reviewing hotels
- Ambience
- Lay out
- Service
- Overall experience
- General Manager and the staff
- Air conditioning
- Hygiene
- Restaurant
- Facilities for the physically challenged
- Safety and security
The Classification Team
- Chaired by Additional Director General (Tourism), Government of India
- Member secretary HRACC
- Representative from FHRAI
- Representative from HAI
- Representative from IATO
- Representative from TAAI
- Principal Institute of Hotel Management
- Regional Director, India Tourism Office
In case of Heritage category, a representative of Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA)
Seven star hotels
- Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
- Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Town House Galleria, Milan
Seven star hotels under construction
- Morgan Plaza Beijing, China
- Laucala Island, Fiji
- Flower of the East, Iran
- Solar Powered Hotel, Kish island, Iran
- The Centaurus Complex Islamabad, Pakistan
- The Royalties Castle Davao City, Philippines
