New hotel and B&B standards in full

Hotels and B&Bs across the UK are to be rated under a new set of common standards. Here are the costs and descriptions of all categories.

Costs
Costs vary across the organisations due to the range of services offered.

VisitBritain:

• Fees banded according to the number of bedrooms and the single, B&B midweek rate charged.
• One-off joining/administration fee (£99-£550) in the first year, plus an annual fee (£179-£1,445).

Welsh Tourist Board:

• All hotels irrespective of size/standard pay
• Basic fee £113/ fee per room £3.25

VisitScotland:

• Annual fee plus £9.20/bedroom; 1-3 bedrooms: £104.20/year; 4-9 bedrooms: £113.90/year; 10+ bedrooms: £122/year

AA (fees for 2005)

• Fees depend on hotel rating
  1 star: £606
  2 star: £685
  3 star: £891
  4 star: £1,160
  5 star: £1,338

RAC - is withdrawing its guidebooks and inspection services from the market by end of 2006

Categories

• Hotels: General accommodation with full service. Minimum six guest bedrooms, but more likely in excess of 20.
• Country house hotel: A country house hotel with ample grounds in a rural or semi-rural situation.
• Small hotel: Smaller hotels run by the proprietor with a maximum of 20 bedrooms. Likely to have limited function business.
• Town house hotel: High quality town/city centre properties of architectural character and individual and distinctive style with a maximum of 50 rooms.
• Metro hotel: A town/city hotel, which provides full hotel services with the exception of dinner.

Guest accommodation sub categories

• B&B: Accommodation provided in a private house, run by the owner and with no more than six paying guests.
• Guest house: Accommodation providing for more than six paying guests and run on a more commercial basis.
• Farmhouse: B&B or guest house accommodation provided on a working farm or smallholding.
• Inn: Accommodation provided in a fully licensed establishment. The bar will be open to non-residents and provide food.
• Restaurant with rooms: Destination restaurant offering overnight accommodation, a maximum of 12 bedrooms, with the restaurant being the main element of the business and open to non-residents.
• Guest accommodation: Any establishment that meets the minimum entry requirements is eligible for this general sub-category.

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