How Egypt hotels are rated

The old hotel classification system that dates back to 1982 ranked hotels into five categories (one through five stars). Hotels were also divided into five kinds, consisting of: Cities, Villages and Off-Shore Leave Hotels, Resorts Hotels, Floating Hotels and Camps.

The Egyptian Hotel Association has announced new specifications of a new ranking system of hotels in Egypt.:

Under the new system, the star ranking will be followed by the NN, indicating that the hotel has been ranked under the new system. However, the kinds of hotels have been increased to six, and now include: Cities and Resorts Hotels, Floating Hotels, Boutique Hotels (small and distinctive), Environmental and Ecological Hotels.

Evaluation rules:

A two part evaluation process includes:

Environmental assessment and equipment (consisting of the infrastructure, that is, the hotel itself, including components such as restaurants, bars, swimming pools, etc. and the hotel equipment). Evaluation of the level of service (undeclared visits or Mystery Shopper), within 6 months from the date of initial operations. 70% of the marks are for the infrastructure and equipment and 30% are for the level of service. The hotel must receive 80% (as a minimum) of the total marks allocated to the category star rating.

For infrastructure and equipment, the evaluation examines specific items, such as the building itself, the rooms, the restaurants and the reception area (among others). Within each of these main items, secondary items are also examined. Points are then awarded for each item and secondary item. For City Hotels, 41 items are assessed and given up to 164 points and 137 secondary points. Each of these primary and secondary items will be awarded a maximum of 6 points, though the lack of secondary items could lead an item to register negative points.

The level of service will be assessed through undeclared visits by a Mystery Shopper employed by international specialized companies under the auspices of the Egyptian Hotel Association and the Ministry of Tourism.

The level of service will evaluate the reservation service (containing 30 items), service outside the hotel and car parks (7 items), reception (22 items), rooms (59 items), room service (23 items), restaurants (54 items), public areas (30 items) and departure or check-out (31 items).

The Egyptian Hotel Association is involved in the evaluation committees for both the structure and equipment, and for the level of service. Evaluations must be approved by the Minister of Tourism, the Head of the Hotel Control, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Hotel Association.

Source : Touregypt.net