Christian de Barrin CEO HOTREC

ABOUT THE HOTELSTARS UNION 15 members: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland 180 million inhabitants 30.000 classified hotels until 2014 www.hotelstars.eu Fully operational (Full members): Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Sweden, Switzerland Preparation for implementation (Implementing members): Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Netherlands

MEMBERSHIP HOTREC-membership = pre-requisite only nation-wide membership, no regions current official observers: France, Italy, official requests from countries worldwide Requests received from e.g. from Israel, Canada

GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE Managing Board (two members per country), Secretariat One country – one vote Unanimous decisions Common criteria (>99%) 270 harmonized criteria 21 HOTREC-principles Marketing, brand, IT high quality standards under the patronage of HOTREC Common criteria to 99%, as there is some flexibility due to cultural, geographical differences (e.g. need for air condition in rooms, etc.) Superior: 1*, 1* superior, 2*, 2* superior, …., 5*, 5* superior – superior category: reaching the points but not the mandatory criteria for next category Managing Board taking the decisions Secretariat managing the daily work of HSU, rotating between the Member countries HOTREC providing the political patronage over the system and promotes it to European institutions Open to all HOTREC member countries to join

HISTORY 1994 Opposition to any harmonised system Historical, cultural and geographical reasons 2004 - 2009 change of position, adoption of common principles Recognition of need for a harmonised system Avoid top-down approach – do it ourselves Work towards satisfying these needs of consumers, Tour operators and Travel Agents as well as of the European institutions 2007 Corporation of Austria – Germany – Switzerland Dec. 2009 Hotelstars Union under the patronage of HOTREC with 7 founding members The cooperation started in 2007 between Austria, Germany and Switzerland was expended in 2009 to some other countries, making possible the launch of Hotelstars Union with 7 countries committing for implementation.

7 FOUNDING MEMBERS IN 2009

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTEL CLASSIFICATION Jan. 2010 New hotel classification system: first implentation 2011 HSU-enlargement: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg 2012 HSU-enlargement: Malta first South European country joining the common star classification 2013 HSU-enlargement: Belgium, Denmark, Greece 2014 Update of criteria catalogue for 2015-2019 Gradual implementation: some countries are implementing sooner, some later, depending of the readiness of the market and also the readiness of the authorities, whenever they need to be involved.

A RECOGNISED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM European institutions recognise the huge work HOTREC and its members have undertaken to harmonise hotel classification in Europe HOTREC Members provide full support to this industry driven approach Together with the direct involvement of the guests and consumers across Europe a classification system can be developed to satisfy real market needs European Institutions: e.g. Introduction of the system by HOTREC in the European Parliament; EP own initiative report in 2011 Positive and encouraging statements of European Commissioners

HOW IT WORKS? FUNCTIONING AND RULES Different types of systems in Hotelstars Union: Mandatory (e.g. Lithuania) Voluntary (e.g. Germany) Privately run (e.g. Sweden, Switzerland) State run (e.g. Malta, Belgium, Luxembourg) Hotelstars Union classification system replaced the existing national system All different types of classification systems around Europe under one hat: In some countries it is mandatory for hotels to be classified In some countries it is voluntary for hotels to be classified In some countries the classification is run by a private entity (e.g. a hotel association) In some countries the classification is run by a public entity (and often put in national law). In the Hotelstars Union countries, the HSU system / criteria replaced the previous national systems

SOME OF THE 21 COMMON PRINCIPLES Compliance with legal requirements Cleanliness and proper maintenance TOs and TAs to be encouraged to use official classification Number of stars from 1 to 5 Regular and onsite controls Possibility for hotels to appeal against classification decision The 21 principles are one of the basis for the operation of the Hotelstars Union in the different countries. The principles are available on the HOTREC website in the position of HOTREC on hotel classification.

Official stars vs. non-official stars Meaning of stars: what to expect in the hotel Which infrastructure and services An objective and verified evaluation of the offer Transparent comparability of the offer across Europe under the Hotelstars Union A brand especially for smaller hotels Official objective hardware evaluation + verified subjective reviews – best solution Different meaning of stars Not known which facilities and services to expect Mix of objective and subjective elements in one Criteria not transparent Not always matching the official star category - confusion Non – official stars given by (Online) Tour operators, Travel Agents

CRITERIA Mix of mandatory and voluntary criteria Avoiding mandatory architecture criteria Criteria in relation to: Rooms, Services offered, Gastronomy, Event facilities, Quality management (complaint handling, guest reviews, etc.) Mix of mandatory and voluntary criteria: Allows for setting minimum requirements for each category and gives flexibility to the hotels to “specialize” themselves putting focus on some specific services Avoiding mandatory architectural criteria: Impossible to harmonise across Europe the size of the rooms. No minimum requirement for minimum room size, but strong incentive for bigger rooms. The bigger the room, the more points received.

Structure of the steps in the system There are not only 1-5 * categories, but each category has a Superior category as well. This is rewarding high additional efforts to enhance the offer in a given category, without entering into a higher category. The rules for classification in the categories on the example of 1*: E.g. for a 1* category 44 mandatory criteria need to be met and a total of 90 points have to be earned from those 44 mandatory criteria and from the points of some additional optional criteria For 1* Superior, the number of points of 170, required for a 2 star category, are reached with mandatory and optional criteria, but not all 53 mandatory criteria for the 2 star category are met.

• All rooms with shower/ toilet in the room • Daily room cleaning • Expanded breakfast • A public telephone/ fax service available • Beverages available • Non-smoking area in the breakfast-room • Soap or body wash • All rooms have colour -TV • Deposit possibility • Breakfast buffet • Bath towels • Bath essences or shower gel • Seats according to number of beds • Reading light next to the bed • Cashless payment • Hygienic articles available • Linen shelves • Reception opened 12 hours; 24 hours within call • Luggage service • Beverages offered in rooms • Telephone in the room, internet access • Restaurant • Systematic complaint handling • Bilingual employees • Hair dryer, additional pillow on demand Reception opened 24 hours, multilingual staff, concierge • 24 hours meals and drinks with room service • Suites • Internet-PC in the room, qualified IT-support service • Reception hall, hotel bar • Mystery guesting • Personalized guest welcome with flowers and/or sweets in the room • Laundry and ironing services within 12 hours, shoe polish service • Turndown service in the evening • Luggage service • Reception opened 18 hours; 24 hours within call • Minibar or 24 hours room service • Bath robe and slippers on demand • Cosmetic mirror • Systematic client inquiry • Comfortable arm chair / couch • Laundry and ironing services • Hotel lobby, restaurant, hotel bar • Sewing service • “À la carte”-restaurant These are some of the examples for the minimum requirements for each category of hotels

A COMMON IDENTITY / SIGNS In 2012 there was agreement to create common signs to be used by hoteliers. This same layout is being applied gradually in all Hotelstars Union hotels. Other marketing activities and efforts: - Important Encouraging OTAs to use the official number of stars thanks to a daily exchange of the HSU database of hotels and star categories with OTAs. E.g. Expedia is doing this under the description of the hotels.

REVISION OF THE HOTEL CLASSIFICATION The original criteria were set for 5 years, 2010 – 2014. Therefore, the revision process needed to be started in 2013 to have the revised criteria implemented from 2015 onwards.

Guest needs are continously changing

Market research 2013 new Approach It was decided by Hotelstars Union members to conduct a direct online survey with European citizens exploring their needs towards hotel classification. Let’s ask them directly

REVISED CRITERIA APPLICABLE FROM 2015 five-years-term (now valid from 2010-2014) Revision process for new criteria 2015 started in 2013 With the help of Swiss University St. Gallen Open online survey among European citizens Study based on this survey

PROCESS Revision process focused on following aspects: Better sleeping comfort; Better online visibility provided by hotel websites; Better telecommunication opportunities also in lower category hotels; Better food and beverages availability in all types of hotels; Keeping with the pace of time Test classifications in several countries New criteria to be implemented contiuosly from 1 January 2015 The study identified some key aspects to be reviewed and changed during the revision process Sleeping comfort: Enhanced criteria with regard to matrasses, including for example more points for regular renewal of matrasses Better online visibility: website required for all classified hotels, more points for direct booking facility on hotels’ own website Better telecommunication opportunities: mandatory internet access in the hotel (public area) from 2* onwards, internet access in the room from 3* onwards – before it was from 3 and 4 stars onwards, respectively Better food and beverage availability: Now some sort of food (snacks, etc.) to be available in all hotels Keeping with the pace of time: New criteria: charging station for electrical vehicles as optional criteria

MAKE YOUR OWN TEST A free testing tool is available on www.hotelstars.eu Check out how many stars you would get under the Hotelstars Union system! Testing tool available on the homepage in the left bottom part.

BENEFITS FOR CUSTOMERS Guiding stars for guests in the universe of offers Possibility to know which infrastructure and services to be expected from a hotel An objective and verified evaluation of the offer Comparability of the offer across Europe under the Hotelstars Union A brand especially for smaller hotels

For any further detailed questions, please contact the Hotelstars Union Secretariat: Klára Hájková AHR ČR Revoluční 13, Prague 1 hajkova@ahrcr.cz +420 773 236 890

Thank you for your attention!