21 marzo [Day TWO] 12:20 - 13:10 [ 50 min ] #2 Scientific Hall Daniel Makay

1. THE STARS ARE SHINING

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HOTREC at a glance
 Umbrella association of Hotels,
Restaurants, Bars and Cafés in
Europe
 42 National Associations, among
which Federalberghi and FIPE
 30 European countries
 The voice of the hospitality
industry at EU level
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BTO - Firenze, 21 March 2019

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Vision
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Mission
• Represent and champion the hospitality industry’s
interests towards the EU and international institutions,
as well as to all kind of relevant stakeholders;
• Foster knowledge sharing and best practice among its
Members, in order to further promote innovation;
• Act as a platform of expertise for the European
hospitality industry.
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A key pillar of the EU economy:
 2 million businesses, 90% micro enterprises
 11,9 million workers, 80% of EU tourism
workforce
1,6 million jobs created between
2013 and 2016
 460 billion EUR contribution to economy -
126 billion EUR to government treasuries
(70 bn of VAT)
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Harmonised European hotel classification system
• 2007 Corporation of Austria – Germany – Switzerland
• 2009 21 HOTREC-principles
• Dec. 2009 Hotelstars Union
7 founding members (AT, CH, CZ, GE, HU, NL, S)
• 2010 roll-out new hotel classification
• 2011 HSU-enlargement: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
• 2012 HSU-enlargement: Malta
• 2013 HSU-enlargement: Belgium, Denmark, Greece
• 2015 HSU-enlargement: Liechtenstein
• 2017 HSU-enlargement: Slovenia BTO - Firenze, 21 March 2019
History & Development of Hotelstars Union

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17 Members & 4 Observers
• Full Members:
– Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,
Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia
• Associated Member:
– Greece
• Observers:
– France, Ireland, Italy, Poland
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Facts & Figures
• More than 22,000 classified hotels within Hotelstars Union
• Representing a market with more than 180 million inhabitants
• International trademark registration (HOTELSTARS.EU)
• 1-5* (including Superior in every category)
• 270 harmonized criteria (mandatory „M“ plus optional criteria)
• Revision of criteria every 6 years based on a market research (now
valid from 2015-2020)
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Structure & Membership
• Contract regulating the relationship and functioning
• General Secretariat in Austria with support of Germany
• Rotating Presidency (2018 & 2019: Denmark)
• Managing Board (meets twice a year)
• One country – one vote
• Under the patronage of HOTREC
• System bases on 21 HOTREC-principles
• HOTREC-Membership = pre-requisite
• Only national Membership, no regional
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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
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Activities & Communication
• www.hotelstars.eu  relaunch of
website
• Interface for official star ratings with data
suppliers (e.g. HERE, GIATA) and OTAs
(e.g. Expedia)
• Successive implementation of common
signs as of 2014
• Raise awareness of all market players:
hoteliers, guests, authorities,
stakeholders, OTAs BTO - Firenze, 21 March 2019
Example on Booking.com:
Example on Expedia:

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Recognition of industry efforts by public bodies
European Commission and the European Parliament recognise and
support the industry efforts:
• Support in last reports on tourism of the European Parliament
• Support from Commissioner Bienkowska on various occasions
(e.g. questions of MEPs)
• HSU presentation in the European Parliament in 2016 and
support from MEPs and Commission
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Regulation for European hotel classification?
HSU system has proven ability to:
• Harmonise different national classification systems
• Being able to expand (covering now more than half of EU
countries)
• Build its own brand
• Get international recognition e.g. by OTAs
• Get recognition of EU institutions (Commission and Parliament)
No need for a European Regulation for hotel classification
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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
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Classification and Reviews
Official hotel classifcation -
objective
• Objective evaluation of offer
• Certainty on the main
infrastructure and services
• Independently varified criteria
and compliance
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Reviews – subjective
• Subjective evaluation of the
offer
• No information on the main
infrastructure and services
• No certainty about the
evaluation
Classification and reviews complement eachother

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HOTREC on reviews
2012 aspects still valid
• Editorial control ov reviews
• Possibility for platform to contact person making the review
• Ensure that authenticity of reviews (actual guests)
• Traceability of reviews
• Evaluation criteria to be clearly communicated
• Right of reply for service provider to be ensured
• Legal certainty and protection against defamatory critisims
BTO - Firenze, 21 March 2019
ISO standard on reviews and maybe EU legislation
to provide for more certainty

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HOTREC encouraging use of new tools
HOTREC start-up platform
• For start-up companies (e.g. engaged in reputation
management, analysis of review data, etc.)
• Encouraging hoteliers to be open to innovative service
offers
• Better matching supply and demand in provision of
services for hospitality businesses
www.hospitality-startup.eu
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Thank you for your attention!
www.hotrec.eu