Hotel Rating Criteria

A study was recently done on the many ways that countries rate lodgings in their respective countries. Note that there is no one rating standard around the world. There is not even regional standardisation, or even ironclad standards for any particular country. A FastTrack report on this was prepared in 2010.

Here, we reproduce the criteria published by the AAA on what may be expected from lodging standards and quality.

While both service and physical expectations must meet AAA’s exacting rating standards, we have found that guests are often influenced more by the way they are treated by the staff than by the opulence of the property.  After all, there are thousands of  magnificent hotels all over the world;  guest-oriented, caring, professionally competent, dedicated, and hospitable employees are much rarer. 
 

1.0	A budget property with basic accommodations offering very few amenities and facilities.
2.0	A modest property with basic accommodations offering a few amenities and facilities.
3.0	A property offering comfortable accommodations with limited facilities and services.
4.0	A property with pleasant accommodations offering a variety of facilities and amenities.
5.0	A deluxe property with superior or luxury accommodations and service. Many offer a wide variety of services and amenities. Officially the highest rating given by any reputed national or international rating agency.
6.0	A luxurious and opulent resort offering exceptional accommodations and amenities like private pools, a butler and a host of other unique touches. It is renowned for service and customer delight, beyond the call of duty. This is rare and the rating itself is debatable, given by the property itself, rather than an independent body.
7.0	Sheer decadance and platinum-grade opulence, reserved for three properties:  - Burj-al-Arab, Bur Dubai, UAE  - The Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE  - The Townhouse Galleria, Milan, Italy This rating too is a grey area, used more for marketing rather than granted by a recognised body using objective criteria.

A HOTEL, BY DEFINITION

To be categorized as a hotel, the establishment must have most of the following facilities and services: multiple floors, a restaurant and/or coffee shop, elevators, room service, bellmen, valet services, spacious lobby and some recreational facilities.

Many hotels are offering their guests luxury accommodations on floors or towers that operate as a separate unit from the main establishment. The criteria used for this level of accommodation is as follows:

A minimum of one entire floor of the total structure must be devoted to the luxury level. Management must provide no less than three of the four services listed below on their luxury floor(s).

• Check-in and Check-out Services
• Concierge Services
• Private Lounge
• Private Elevator Service (Key Access)

A hotel offers its guests a broad spectrum of lodging experiences. The AAA description of the star-rating is below.

STAR CATEGORIES

A ONE STAR HOTEL should be clean, comfortable and maintained well. It is worth the rates charge when compared to other accommodations in the area. It offers limited services and, though lacking a full service restaurant, will have a coffee shop. Good housekeeping and maintenance, combined with courteous service, are essential.

One-Star Criteria

An appropriate comfortable place to sleep, providing the traveling public with the necessities for a comfortable night's lodging.

• Limited lobby seating
• 24-hour front desk or direct dial phones
• Coffee shop
• Clean, well maintained
• Serviceable furniture in good condition
• Comfortable beds; clean linens changed daily
• Quiet, lightproof rooms
• Good lighting
• Television available in all rooms
• Plentiful supply of bath towels and soap
• Plumbing in good working order
• Friendly, helpful management, staff ; at least one person on call around the clock
• Bellmen
• Elevator service
• Convenient locations
• Attractive guest room decor
• Parking area well-lighted if available
• Room service

A TWO-STAR HOTEL offers more than a One-Star including some, but not all, of the facilities and services listed below. Cleanliness and comfort are essential as is a well planned, integrated decor.

Two-Star Criteria

All of the qualities indicated for a One-Star plus:

• Very good housekeeping and maintenance
• Medium to large rooms with adequate closet space, some variety available
• Attractive, appealing room decor
• Colour television in all rooms
• Good quality furniture, comfortable chairs
• Restaurant, serving three meals a day
• Swimming pool
• Room service
• Lobby with seating capability and some decor
• Some oversized beds
• Attractive, functional baths
• Adequate closet space
• Recreational activities for guests
• Good-quality towels and soap

A THREE-STAR HOTEL is a full service, professionally managed and staffed accommodation. Very often beautifully appointed, a Three-Star establishment offers a truly excellent lodging experience. The range of facilities is extensive; if some are lacking the rating may also imply that other exceptional qualities are present, making a stay there particularly appealing.

Three-Star Criteria

• Excellent maintenance
• Excellent housekeeping
• Spacious, attractive lobby
• Well-designed check-in/check-out area; excellent service with 24-hour desk
• Large, comfortable rooms with sitting area, lightproof and soundproof
• Bright, attractive room decor: some attention to detail (i.e. prints on wall); writing table
• Some nonsmoking rooms available
• Excellent furnishings in good condition
• Firm mattresses, excellent condition
• Central air-conditioning/heating plant
• Room thermostat
• Carpet or flooring to complement decor; excellent quality
• Bathrooms, integrated decor, some amenities provided
• Excellent quality towels and soaps
• Functional, well-maintained bath facilities
• Suites available
• Luxury level accommodations
• Extended room service hours
• Colour TV, radio, clock in rooms
• Two direct-dial phones in guest rooms; one phone by the bed and another on the desk or in the bath
• Swimming pool on premises or nearby
• Wake-up calls available
• More than one restaurant, often a gourmet dining room
• Some activities available for guests: tennis, golf, miniature golf, lawn games, sauna, health club
• Some special services available, such as: poolside service, concierge, valet services, doormen, meeting rooms, business services

A FOUR-STAR HOTEL not only has every service normally associated with its genre, but also has its own style and personality. It is luxurious, with a well-integrated, creative decor. Housekeeping and maintenance are superb. Guest rooms are large, with spacious, comfortable sitting areas. Furniture and appointments are of the best quality, complementing the overall theme.

Four-Star awards go to those properties defined as "Outstanding, Worth a special trip." Of 22,000 places evaluated annually by our representatives only 2% are awarded four or five stars. Those motels, lodges, motor hotels, hotels, inns, guest ranches, resorts and restaurants are highly competitive, are described in superlative terms and far exceed normal expectations in design, level of luxury, service, elegance and uniqueness.

The entire operation is characterized by attention to detail, efficiency and a feeling that guest comfort and convenience are the prevailing concern of the staff. The staff is, of course, outstanding in every respect: courteous, professional and knowledgeable, and of sufficient size to extend personalized service to each guest.

A variety of accommodations is usually available, lobbies are spacious and well-appointed and a very fine restaurant is on the premises. Room service is a gracious, fine dining experience; often 24-hour service is provided.

Four-Star Criteria

• Superior maintenance and immaculate housekeeping
• Carefully landscaped grounds, well-kept
• Distinctive building design
• Luxuriously appointed lobby, public space, art work, fine furnishings, superior carpet quality, fresh flowers, plants
• Organized area for check-in/check-out; fast, efficient service
• Secure, appropriate, uncluttered luggage handling area
• Well-groomed staff, uniformed bellmen, doorman
• Courteous, helpful staff, articulate and knowledgeable
• Management highly professional, generating staff commitment to guest satisfaction
• Excellent restaurant facilities, including at least one fine dining room
• Room service, extended hours, superior service and a varied menu
• Large, finely furnished, well-lighted guest rooms
• Non-smoking rooms available
• Television in armoire or on attractive, decorative stand; remote control
• Well-integrated decor; fine art work; superior drapery, spread and furniture fabrics
• Closed, lighted closets, ample hangers, full length mirrors
• Two room phones; one at bedside, one on desk
• Fine linen, double top sheet; large, fresh pillows, extra blankets, pillows provided
• Twice-daily maid service; turn-down service, management gift
• Firm mattresses, oversized beds
• Bath spotless, with fine soaps, amenities, thick towels, lovely well-integrated decor
• Medicine cabinets and/or vanities
• Shave/make-up mirror, scale, hair dryer, exhaust fan, heat lamp; robes available to all guests
• Bathroom phones
• Effective, functional lighting in bathroom, bedroom
• Business services and meeting rooms
• Offer most of the following services: transportation to/from airport, train station; concierge; welcome gift from management; shops: barber, beauty, clothing, sundries; health club or privileges nearby; recreation facilities on premises; poolside services, beverage and food; complimentary limousine service to theatre and shopping; complimentary shoeshine; complimentary newspaper

A FIVE-STAR HOTEL stands in a very elite category, one in which the staff engages in a tireless pursuit of excellence and perfection. There is no "typical" Five-Star establishment; however, some common characteristics exist. Each one offers a level of service that provides an individual, memorable experience for each guest. Unwavering quality and elegance are observed and felt from the moment one drives up and enters the building. All possess the qualities characterizing a Four-Star, but offer even more services, ambience and facilities for guests.

The staff is clearly professional from the doorman to the bellmen to desk personnel. Their exceptional appearance, their articulate and knowledgeable approach to the guest reflect the quality of the lodging facility. Twice-daily maid service is standard, including turn-down service and management gift. Lobbies will be places of beauty, whether furnished in fine antiques or in unique and elegant contemporary designs, often displaying fine works of art and objects d'art. A superior, but not necessarily Five-Star, restaurant must be present; room service should provide excellent, beautifully served meals. Grounds should be meticulously groomed and landscaped.

The Five-Star award requires the presence of certain ingredients; superiority in all areas of guest services and facilities; elegant, distinctive decor enhanced by furniture and accoutrements of quality and rare beauty; professional, articulate, knowledgeable staff members capable of identifying and meeting the needs of all guests; strong, effective, stable management. Having established that all of Mobil Travel Guide's very exacting standards are met in these areas, there is one further standard: The quality must be sustained year to year. This can be achieved only through careful observation over a period of years. Consistency of Service, Continued upkeep and impeccable housekeeping are the key ingredients to maintaining a five-star rating.

Five-Star Criteria

All of the qualities of a Four-Star property, with particular attention to:

• Unique architectural building design
• Superior maintenance throughout
• Grounds meticulously groomed and landscaped, distinctive environs
• Impeccable housekeeping, maintenance
• Individualized, elegant decor: lobby, guest rooms, public space, art work, planting, objects d'art to complement decor
• Flooring, carpeting of exceptional quality, interest, often custom made
• Lobby designed to accommodate guests with gracious service
• Superior check in/check out service, unobtrusive and secure luggage handling area
• Guests escorted to rooms by professionally trained personnel
• Concierge, 24-hour service
• Rooms spacious, offering a comfortable sitting area, writing desk and chair
• Room furniture of superb quality: some authentic antiques, fine reproductions of distinctive contemporary design
• Carefully integrated guest room decor, with emphasis on elegance or reflecting a design of distinctive quality
• Three phones in guest room; at bedside, on the desk and in the bathroom
• Twice-daily maid service; turn-down service
• Fine prints or original art
• Carefully integrated decor, with emphasis on elegance or reflecting a design of distinctive quality
• Bath modern, distinctive, well-planned
• Amenities, special soaps, linens designed to coordinate with bath decor
• Special services and facilities
• Superior room service, with extended hours, a varied menu, and faultless service of excellent food, beautifully presented
• Excellent dining facilities, including at least one fine restaurant offering excellent food, beautifully presented, in an attractive setting
• Health Club or some service of a health club
• Complimentary transportation
• Welcome gift from management
• Shopping arcade or superior quality clothing shops
• Mini-bars, refrigerators in most rooms

Staff:

• well-groomed, uniformed, attractively dressed
• courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, articulate
• commitment to anticipating guests' needs, serving them
• management professional, generating an almost tangible esprit de corps
  
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