Luxury Cape Town hotels will have to reapply to make the cut for the new star grading system, which will also weed out shoddy establishments.
This month the Tourism Ministry and the Tourism Grading Council South Africa (TGSA) launched the new and stricter star grading system.
The grading process will take about 18 months and although it is voluntary, only graded establishments will secure lucrative government contracts.
The grading system will mean the issuing of serial-coded plaques, linked to the membership number of the hotel, and there will be a move to phase out internal grade assessors. This is when hotel groups train their own employees on the TGCSA system and have them accredited as grading assessors.
Now four assessors, one in Cape Town, are to keep the establishments in line.
The Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) assisted with the development of the system, a process that began two years ago.
Brett Dungan, Fedhasa chief operating officer, said there were 121 five-star hotels in Cape Town. These included One and Only, the Westin, the Radisson Blu and the Cape Grace.
In the next month, Fedhasa launches its nationwide campaign to let guests know what to expect at the different grades.
The grades will hinge on criteria, such as a hotel’s décor and hospitality.
Dungan said the “public will now know what they are getting”. It would also limit the “soft stars” of the industry.
“A soft three-star property, for example, is a property that, under the old grading system, slipped through the cracks. Under the new system it would sit more comfortably as a two-star property.”
Dungan said there were arguments against the grading, among them that it was too expensive. Hotels would have to spend money to keep their grading.
“The maintenance of standards is costly… Properties will not be able to hang on to their grading under the new system unless standards are maintained.”
Gradings would be reviewed each year.
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