Is Your Hotel Star-Crossed?
What the heck do the stars in an Italian hotel ranking indicate? Price? Quality? Proximity to the Andromeda galaxy? Here’s your answer.
By Dave Nelson
In Italy, I have stayed in three-star hotels in one place that were more expensive than five-star hotels in another place. On many occasions, four-star hotels had fewer amenities than two-star hotels. So what gives? What do those stars associated with Italian hotel rankings mean? Price? Quality? The answer appears to be a combination of amenities and services available.
On 11 February 2009, the Italian government published a decree setting minimum standards for the country’s hotels. The high-flown intention of the decree was to provide hotel guests better and more competitive services. The real-world effectiveness of the decree is…well, we are talking about the Italian government here. These are the minimum standards:
One-Star Hotel: Good price, but you must sleep in the bidet. Down the hall.
One-star hotels: Reception must be open at least 12 hours a day; cleaning of rooms at least once a day; minimum size of double rooms 14 square meters; change of sheets once a week.
Two-star hotels: Must have an elevator; change of sheets at least twice a week.
Three-star hotels: Must have a bar service, receptionists must speak at least one foreign language; the reception must be open at least 16 hours a day; personnel must wear a uniform; each room must have internet services and private bath.
Four-star hotels: In addition to daily cleaning, the room must be re-set in the afternoon and sheets and towels must be changed daily; must offer laundry services to clients; must have parking for at least 50% of the rooms; double rooms of at least 15 square meters and bathroom of at least 4 square meters.
Five-star hotels: reception must be open 24 hours a day and must offer at least 3 foreign language capabilities; single rooms must be of at least 9 square meters and double of at least 16 square meters.
So, my interpretation is, as long as you have all of the above, you could put an Army cot in a big room, call yourself a five-star hotel, and charge tourists 20 euros for a room service latte. What’s changed?
Grazie a Stefano Guiso-Gallisay, an attorney with the Studio Legale Ughi e Nunziante in Milan who provided this summary of the new decree, by way of Jim Butler at the HotelLawBlog.com.
If you would like to discuss traveling to Italy, or travel of any kind, contact Dave Nelson.