British Hotels to Standardize Star Ratings

The British travel industry is to unify the system of star ratings for accommodation under a new scheme agreed by tourist boards and motoring organizations.

The move aims to ensure that hotel grading from one-star to five-star mean the same thing throughout Great Britain, no matter which organization´s inspectors carry out the assessment.

VisitBritain, VisitScotland, the Wales Tourist Board have got together with the Automobile Association (AA) and Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to agree a set of common standards for all aspects of guest accommodation.

From 2006, they will all work from the same criteria and guidelines to decide how many stars are awarded for tourist listings and sign boards.

The unified scheme clarifies and simplifies the process of hotel grading and applies to standards of accommodation facilities offered, measured against a set of detailed tables in a 40-page workbook published jointly by the inspecting bodies. Additional marketing awards and recommendations for food, comfort and service are not affected.