Grading criteria to come into force in October

The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa has introduced its star grading criteria and standards for hotels and other tourism accommodation establishments. They will become effective on October 1.

The introduction of new criteria is part of what the Tourism Grading Council says is a number of significant and far-reaching changes to its operations. It says the implementation of the revised star grading criteria in South Africa is the most significant of the changes.

In an announcement it says: “Following an extensive consultation process with industry, the reviewed grading criteria is ready for implementation. Effective 01 October 2010, accommodation establishments will be graded using this reviewed grading criteria.

“This internationally benchmarked grading criteria will ensure uniformity and predictability in the star grading of South African establishments and will ensure that South African establishments maintain their global reputation for excellence in both facilities and service.”

Thembi Kunene, chief quality assurance officer for the council: “We appreciate the incredible support we received from the major stakeholders, specifically the Fedhasa family of members, other associations (Satsa, Babasa, etc) as well as the current accredited grading assessors.

“Without industry participation, we would not have managed to produce such a high quality grading criteria. This reviewed grading criteria bodes well for tourism in South Africa, and most importantly, the local and international tourists.

“We have all collectively invested a significant amount of time and energy in fine-tuning the criteria to get them right for this industry so that South Africa can maintain its international competitiveness as a tourist destination.”



The criteria are contained in a 95-page document that can be downloaded from the TGCSA website.

Hotel & Restaurant editor Andrew Moth said he was looking forward to studying the details when he had a free week. "The Ten Commandments take up less than a page even in large-print books, but for many people hotel grading is a very sensitive subject even at a time when branding gives most consumers a pretty good idea of what they are likely to be offered."