Sustainability, staff challenges and ongoing digitalisation and automation of the hotel industry were the driving forces behind this routine process to revise the criteria for hotel classification. The new criteria come into force as of January 2025.
Budapest, 24 April 2024. The General Assembly of the Hotelstars Union (HSU), the European association for a harmonised hotel classification, today adopted the new set of criteria and corresponding point system for awarding hotel stars. The hotel classification criteria, a product of a collaborative effort among all 21 member countries, are reviewed every five to six years in order to further develop and modernise them in line with the needs of guests and the market. This ensures that industry standards keep pace with the changing demands and dynamics of the hospitality sector.
"After not more than twelve months of intensive work, we have successfully completed the current revision process of the HSU criteria catalogue. The process of reaching consensus and harmonising the positions of all HSU member associations was a complex undertaking that required considerable effort and cooperation. However, this is also the strength of our system, as our bottom-up process ensures that it is recognised by guests and hoteliers alike," says HSU President Markus Luthe, thanking all participating countries for their constructive work.
The new classification catalogue, a result of our commitment to sustainability, efficiency and guest satisfaction, has been reduced from 247 to 239 criteria. Specific outdated criteria have been eliminated, while others have been consolidated to simplify the system. For instance, to meet the increased hygiene requirements, mattress cleaning recommendations have been added to extend their lifespan, which positively impacts sustainability. Furthermore, to promote sustainability, items such as sewing and shoe polishing kits are no longer provided necessarily in the rooms. Additional changes of bed linen and towels are offered only upon request by the guest. Hotels are eligible for extra points if they measure their carbon footprint according to international standards. To address the shortage of labour across Europe, mandatory reception and room service hours have been reduced. Digitalisation has also been incorporated into the new criteria by introducing fully automated check-in and check-out services, which can replace manned reception services, especially in the 1* and 2* categories. The use of self-service kiosks has also become more common. It is now included in the new 4-star criteria, which can replace minibars, maxibars and room service for ecological reasons.
“When revising the hotel classification criteria, we have taken into account not only the forthcoming EU legislation on packaging waste or greenwashing but also sustainability as a whole, as well as staff shortages and increasing digitalisation and automation as driving forces in the hotel industry. This approach gives our hotels - from one to five stars - the confidence to build on these criteria over the next five years," Luthe explained and concluded that the HSU member countries now have until 1 January 2025 at the latest to bring the catalogue into force at the national level.
The official criteria for the classification will also be published on www.hotelstars.eu Interested hotels can access a digital test classification at hotelstars.eu/testclassification
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, 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 according to a common catalogue of criteria in already 21 European countries. With already 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.