What is the difference between 3-star and 4-star hotels?
When we plan a vacation and choose a hotel, we are guided by a whole set of impressions from the description, photos and reviews about it. A significant role is also played by the status of the hotel and the price of accommodation. Travelers often spend excruciating minutes trying to decide which hotel to go to: 3 stars or 4? Or, after reading the alluring phrases “all inclusive” and “5-star hotel”, book a tour, not particularly interested in other details.
Very often, the difference between a 3 and 5 star hotel is not as a service, but only in price. Determining the status of the hotel by the presence of stars, and choosing more of them on the signboard, we hope for more friendly service and quality services.
Experienced travelers know that each country has its own standards of service and the indicator of “star” does not always guarantee comfortable service. There is an opinion that there are uniform rules around the world, according to which hotels are classified and stars are assigned to them. However, there are no such rules, and each country has its own standards, different classification systems are applied, which differ from each other. Travelers making choices based on the number of stars may not experience the level of service they expected.
In the 1980s, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) proposed an initiative to create a uniform classification of hotels for all countries. A standard for hotels was issued, but it was of a recommendatory nature, therefore, no one followed its universal implementation. And the norms described then, in the view of the modern tourist is far from absolute comfort: in those days there was no wireless Internet, and the entertainment industry for two decades has stepped far forward.
Today, only progressive Europe applies uniform standards for hotel classification. This rating of Hotelstars Union is applied in several countries: Luxembourg, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Estonia, Switzerland, the Netherlands. Hotels in these countries are evaluated on a scale of 270 criteria, which is significantly more than in other national systems. In Sweden, for example, there were only 130 points to evaluate.
The main criteria are:
Functional purpose and location of the hotel. Depending on the type of tourist service is estimated: proximity to the historical center and the sea.
Room capacity and room size.
The level of comfort and service in the hotel.
Duration of work, provision of food, as well as price level.
As for other countries that do not use the European system, then it is easy to get confused in the classification, because hotels often use other symbols or even letters in addition to stars to reflect their own status. And also points, like in Goa. In Britain, the national system assigned "crowns" rather than "stars", in Sweden - used the symbol "key", and America - "diamonds", and Greece determined the status of the hotel by assigning letter designations.
You can also face the fact that the advertised advantages simply do not correspond to reality. For example, in the countries of the East, they like to “put dust in their eyes” and often just paint the stars. In Turkey and Egypt, there is no clear system for assigning stars. Their number here depends not on the quality, but on the breadth of the range of services provided. The brighter and more diverse the service can provide the hotel, the more stars, respectively. Therefore, when choosing a hotel, you should familiarize yourself with the mandatory services. And even if you are counting on all inclusive, it will not be superfluous to clarify what exactly is included there. In the UAE, too, "paint" stars, here you can find even a 7-star hotel. I am glad that such advertising does not affect the quality of service, the service is really high.
It is not difficult to get confused with the stars in Italy. After paying a certain tax, the hotel acquires a star. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find a sign of 4 stars, and in fact there will be a two-star hotel. In addition, the standards of class determination in each region within the country differ. Before traveling, you should find out about the standards of service and service rules in force in the region where the hotel is located.
In Russia, the hotel is not easy to get a star. They are assigned by the number of points scored after passing the commission. Five-star hotel becomes, gaining 120 points, 4-star, gaining 100. The commission evaluates everything from the level of service and suitability of the premises to the location of the hotel and the availability of wi-fi in the rooms. Points are awarded for each individual item.
It can be concluded that the star of hotels is an ambiguous issue: their number may simply not correspond to the actual level of the hotel. And with the same number of stars, hotels do not always equal the quality of service even in one country. In addition to the quality standards that hotels can meet, there is always a human factor: one hotel has more welcoming staff than another. Reviews will help assess the situation. It is better not to blindly trust the “light of the star”, but to study the services provided in detail and trust your opinion at the final choice.