Hotelstars Union (HSU) welcomes Slovakia as its 22nd member

Vienna/Dublin, 21 April 2026 – At its 11th General Assembly in Cork, the Hotelstars Union (HSU) has admitted Slovakia to its circle of members. Substantively, the focus once again was on the non-transparent presentation of hotel star ratings on booking platforms. The HSU and its member countries are calling on Booking.com to end the misleading display of hotel stars in Europe and to show only officially awarded ratings.
 
“With the introduction of the Hotelstars Union star classification system, our neighbouring country will in future classify its hotels according to the harmonised criteria, thereby making an important contribution to greater cross-border comparability and transparency for guests across Europe,” explains Karin Rosenberger, spokesperson for hotel classification at the Austrian Professional Hotel Association within the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich).
 
“We are delighted to officially welcome Slovakia as an associate member to our stars family. The transition from observer status to becoming the 22nd member of the Hotelstars Union is a strong sign of European cooperation, trust, and shared quality standards in the hotel industry,” emphasises Markus Luthe, President of the Hotelstars Union.
 
Another key focus of the General Assembly was the continued lack of a uniform presentation of official star categories on booking platforms – most notably on Booking.com. This follows a recent decision by the Dutch advertising authority confirming that consumers expect hotel star ratings to be based on an objective classification system. Where such transparency is absent, this amounts to misleading information.
 
“The current practice massively undermines consumer trust. This star fudging must come to an end,” Rosenberger criticised. In many countries, including Austria, Booking.com displays stars that are not based on a recognised classification. Non-classified establishments are shown with self-awarded stars – something that is hardly comprehensible for users.
 
Together with the HSU, the Austrian Professional Hotel Association is therefore calling on Booking.com to use hotel stars exclusively for officially classified establishments and to present them transparently and consistently across Europe. Non-classified accommodation must be clearly distinguished. “Booking.com has all the technical means to do this. The simplest solution would be a free connection to the HSU database to transmit official classification data,” Rosenberger said. Booking.com has so far refused to take this step.
 
“Consumers must be able to rely on stars having relevance and meaning everywhere. We therefore urge Booking.com to finally adapt its practices accordingly and to cooperate with the Hotelstars Union,” Markus Luthe and Karin Rosenberger concluded.
 
 
About Hotelstars Union
Under the patronage of HOTREC Hospitality Europe, the hotel associations of Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland form the Hotelstars Union. It was founded in 2009 and has operated as an association under Belgian law, with its headquarters in Brussels since 2021. The Hotelstars Union reliably classifies hotels in categories from 1 to 5 hotel stars based on a common catalogue of criteria. With more than 22,000 classified hotels or 1.2 million classified hotel rooms in its member countries, it offers transparency, quality and security for guests and hoteliers. You can find detailed information at www.hotelstars.eu.