Harmony north and south of the border

The debate over how serviced accommodation should be graded in the UK has been going on for too long. But at long last we should shortly have a new system that brings more harmony than before. All we are waiting for is for a few loose ends to be tied up and the new government to agree to the proposals.

Some things are already finalised and the best news is that tourist board crown ratings will soon be a thing of the past throughout Great Britain.

Unfortunately, what they will be replaced with is to differ between England, Scotland and Wales.

In England, the English Tourist Board (ETB) and the motoring organisations have agreed on a one- to five-star system for hotels, largely facilities based, and have virtually agreed on a system for other serviced accommodation which will use a symbol other than stars.

So far so good. The Scots, however, have chosen to go their own way. The Scottish Tourist Board (STB) will use stars for hotels as well, but the grading system will be different from the one being adopted by the ETB and the motoring organisations, with a greater emphasis put on quality.

And in a further controversial move, the STB says it is likely to adopt stars for other accommodation such as inns and guesthouses.

The decision of the Scots to break ranks was greeted with dismay at a Tourism Society meeting in London last week, mainly at the decision to use stars for all serviced accommodation, but also for failing to come into line with England over hotel grading. But hoteliers at the Caterer & Hotelkeeper Adopted Business open day at the Apex International hotel in Edinburgh last Monday were more supportive of the STB's stand.

Most of them claimed that facilities-based grading was a much poorer option than one which put more emphasis on quality. However, they were all disappointed that as a result of the STB's stand on quality there would be no truly national hotel grading scheme. And all recognised the confusion for consumers in Scotland who would be faced with similar hotels having different star ratings depending on which organisation had graded them.

But it is important not to dwell too much on the negatives. It is clear that in most respects the new regimes will be far better than those they are replacing and that for the most part consumers will have greater clarity when choosing where to stay.

And who knows, perhaps one day soon the STB and Scottish hoteliers will realise that even though the proposed scheme north of the border is excellent, the prize of national unity is much more valuable.

Gary Crossley

Editor

Caterer & Hotelkeeper