HOTEL CLASSIFICATION

CRITERIA FOR 4* AND 5*

HOTELS IN SPAIN

Name: Francisco José Fernández Martínez (Erasmus Student)

Professor: Ewa Kossakowska
Course: Hotel Properties Management
In Spain, each autonomous community has the competence to establish the
coordinates for a classification system of hotels that is specific to its region.
However, each hotel - regardless of the region - has the obligation to
schedule the categorization of its hotel by the competent authorities and to
maintain active all the services that have been taken into account at the time
of the classification. The category, described in number of stars, must be
clearly displayed at the hotel entrance.

In addition, basic requirements are established in terms of safety in the event

of fire, as well as the obligation to control noise emissions and to adapt the
facilities in the event that the permitted decibels are exceeded. It is also
normative that the hotel places, in the same reception space, a list of "room-
price" relations, and that it puts at the disposal of the client another list of
"additional services-price" relations, which should be located in an easily
accessible place of the room. If these requirements are met, there is a free
way to standardize the rest of the aspects, although in general terms it can be
said that the differences between Spanish regions are not extremely
significant.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
 Display the standardized plate with the corresponding category at the
entrance of the establishment.
 Comply with fire protection and evacuation regulations.
 Comply with soundproofing regulations.
 Display the maximum prices for services in the reception area.
 Display in each room a price list of all extra services offered (drinks,
laundry, telephone use, room service, etc.)

At the beginning of 2011, the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist

Accommodation (CEHAT) wanted to draft some unifying criteria in order to
approach the bases shared by some European countries, members of the
Hotelstars Union. Since then, the autonomous communities that wish to
comply with them have a considerable margin of maneuver, within which to
specify the most relevant conditions for the economic and social development
and cultural exploitation of the region.

The Spanish hotel classification system describes the categories according to

the measurements of the rooms, the characteristics of the bathrooms and the
services offered in the room and in the communal areas, and establishes a
gradation ranging from 1 to 5 stars (where 1 star is reserved for the most
basic facilities, and 5 stars for the most equipped and/or luxurious).

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4 STAR HOTELS

Double rooms must have a minimum of 16 m2 and single rooms a minimum

of 9 m2 and a bathroom with a bath and shower of at least 4.5 m2. There
must be a telephone in the rooms, heating, air conditioning, an elevator on the
floor to reach the rooms, a bar in the hotel or a restaurant and a safe in the
rooms.

5-STAR HOTELS

The highest category of hotels in Spain. Same characteristics as the 4 stars,

but larger room at least 17 m2, larger bathroom at least 5 m2 and air
conditioning in room. Must have telephone in the room, heating, air
conditioning in the room, elevator on the floor to reach the rooms, bar or
restaurant in the hotel, and safe service in the rooms.

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