Courtesy : Hotel Management

Hotel classifications by country

Australia

In Australia, the industry accommodation rating scheme and Star Rating trademarks, known as Star Ratings Australia, are owned by the Australian Tourism Industry Council. A Star Rating represents the quality and condition of guest facilities which is determined by 200 criteria. Star Ratings are awarded to hotels, motels, serviced apartments, self-catering, hosted accommodation and caravan-holiday parks. The scheme uses physical visits, reviews and mystery guest stays to make their accreditation on the accommodation’s ratings. # ISO certification in India

Australia’s star ratings have been operating since the 1950s as both an accreditation as well as a booking service. It was first owned by the state based automobile clubs including NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAC, RAA and RACT. It was then organized by the Australian Automobile Association Tourism (AAA Tourism) as a peak body. However, the booking service in the motoring clubs was not continued and later the annual accommodation guide book ceased to be printed with the accommodation guide going online. AAA Tourism closed in 2013, but Star Ratings Australia continued as an inspection and star rating service only, as well as an accommodation website.

In 2015 Star Ratings Australia became one of the first independent accommodation classification systems in the world to incorporate a consumer ‘voice’. Their website also shows a Travellers’ Rating which is presented in parallel to the independent Star Rating and is an aggregate of past guest ratings and reviews from more than 100 websites in 45 different languages. The rating is shown as a 10 point score. Weighting applies to the popularity of the source site and the date of the last guest review. The William Angliss Institute in Melbourne developed an independent benchmarking framework to show if a property has met or exceeded guest expectations. # ISO certification in India

On 28 February 2017, Michael Reed, CEO of Australian Motoring Services, advised clients of the closure of Star Ratings Australia brand and asked to remove star rating and automobile club logos from their accommodation and promotional information by June 2017. It was said that competition from online travel agencies such as TripAdvisor and their customer rating system led to its demise.

The brand was then transferred to the Australian Tourism Industry Council. In early 2019, Star Ratings were rebranded under the council’s “Quality Tourism” Accreditation Program.

Star Ratings in Australia stand for independently reviewed quality standards and are defined as such:

Star rating	Overview of criteria according to Star Ratings Australia
{\displaystyle \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar }	Properties that typify luxury across all areas of operation. Guests will enjoy an extensive range of facilities and comprehensive or highly personalised services. Properties at this level will display excellent design quality and attention to detail.
{\displaystyle \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar }	Properties which achieve a deluxe guest experience. A wide range of facilities and superior design qualities are typically complemented by service standards that reflect the varied and discerning needs of the guest.
{\displaystyle \bigstar \bigstar \bigstar }	Properties that deliver a broad range of amenities that exceed above-average accommodation needs. Good quality service, design and physical attributes are typically fit for purpose to match guest expectations.
{\displaystyle \bigstar \bigstar }	Properties that focus on the needs of price conscious travellers. Services and guest facilities are typically limited to keep room rates affordable and competitive but may be available upon request or fee-based.
{\displaystyle \bigstar }	Properties that offer budget facilities without compromising cleanliness or guest security. Guests may access fee-based services or facilities upon request.
	Half-star ratings (not used alone) indicate modest improvements in the quality and condition of guest facilities.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom hotels are rated from one star to five stars. The RAC pulled out of accommodation grading in 2008 so 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. The schemes were all ‘harmonised’ to ensure consistency between the schemes. This applies to all accommodation types apart from self-catering that the AA started offering in 2009. The AA criteria are available on its website. In addition to the usual black stars (ranging from one (the lowest) to five (the highest), the AA awards red stars to the highest-rated, which are deemed ‘Inspectors’ Choice’. Each of the national tourist boards have grading explanations on their web sites. # ISO certification in India