English Tourist Board scheme by Helen Conway
ALTHOUGH plans for a nationwide hotel accommodation grading scheme have been scuppered, the English Tourist Board is going ahead with the high-profile launch of its own system later this summer.
The Wales Tourist Board and Scottish Tourist Board have opted for their own methods of classifying hotels, and the ETB, AA and RAC are close to finalising a common system for hotels and other guest accommodation.
So from around September, properties in England at least will not show three different grades outside their doors.
The ETB had its crown scheme which allocated crowns according to the level of facilities, as well as commendations for quality. Both the AA and RAC operated star-based systems but used different criteria to award the stars.
The outcome was that a property could find itself classified as four crown, highly commended, from the ETB, but have three stars from the RAC and just two from the AA.
This meant confusion for tour operators buying beds for domestic programmes, as well as for consumers individually booking rooms.
Under the new ETB scheme, crowns have been replaced by stars, rising from one star to five star and reflecting a rising level of quality, service and facilities.
A new symbol for accommodation classification, the diamond, will be awarded to guesthouses, inns, farmhouses and bed and breakfasts, and they will be assessed differently to reflect the overall quality of operation.
The new scheme also places great store in the facilities available – which was the bone of contention for the WTB and STB. It still focuses primarily on quality but much more emphasis is given to intangibles such as good service and warmth of the welcome.
AA Hotel Services chief inspector David Young said the new scheme gives greater focus on the quality of the food.
According to RAC manager hotel services Linda Astbury, the cleanliness of the bedrooms and bathrooms are also given higher priority. This followed research by the old Department of National Heritage, which showed consumers place great importance on the level of cleanliness in hotels.
However, the three organisations will continue to produce their own accommodation guides as part of individual marketing efforts. This means that all accommodation in England will still be visited on three separate occasions by inspectors from each organisation.
But as all inspectors undergo common training and check properties against the same quality standards, it is unlikely they will disagree on a rating for a particular property.
However, if there is any conflict, a joint technical committee of representatives from the AA, RAC and ETB will arbitrate and, if necessary, re-inspect a property to ensure agreement on classification is reached.
Although individual hotels should get word from inspectors by midsummer on what their newly-assessed classification is, the trade and public will not know until new signs are in place in August.
September sees the start of a joint promotional campaign to launch Harmonised Quality Standards to the public. This will be followed in October and November by the publication of travel guides featuring the inspected accommodation from the AA, ETB and RAC.