Rating of hotels begins as agency warns on meddling

The Tourism Regulatory Authority has warned hotels against interfering with fresh classification, which started last week.

In the exercise, the government will give new ratings to hotels, restaurants, lodges and other facilities used by local and foreign tourists.

A team of 19 certified classification officers began the process in Western Kenya last week with about 90 hotels expected to be rated in the region.

It is expected that the process will prompt hotel owners to improve standards in a bid to improve marketing of the industry.

The rating of hotels is one of the initiatives undertaken jointly by the East African Community member states to revive tourism.

The last hotel ranking was done in 2002. The next one, which was scheduled for 2011 aborted after a section of hoteliers protested, saying their facilities were downgraded.

Lack of a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework was also cited as a challenge in  the sustainability of the ranking.

“The grading will target those facilities that have already carried out their own self-assessment based on minimum entry requirements and pre-qualified by the Classification and Standardisation Committee,” reads a notice by the regulator.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

“The tourism regulators are asked to cooperate and not interfere with the committee.”

The rating will be done using the East African Community standardisation and classification system, which was adopted in 2009.

Hotels are required to answer 300 questions in the grading process. This enables them to self-rate themselves from one-star to the highest level, five-star. The self-rating will then be confirmed or altered by the committee.

Mr Robinson Anyal, western Kenya hoteliers chairman, who sits in the 11-member committee that oversees the grading, told the hotels in the region to ensure that they have all the required licences.

“All hotels that want to be rated by now should know that they will be required to produce liquor, health, tourism, and occupancy licences, among others, as a mandatory part of the grading drive,” he said.

Hotel classification is used as a tool for gauging quality assurance in service provision in a tourist destination.  It provides tourists with information on what they can expect from various hotels while hoteliers use it as a guide on the services, facilities and standards  expected of them.

Hotels of higher standards usually attract high-end clientele who pay handsomely for the services.

“Currently, our customers do not even know the standards of our hotels. With this grading, they will be better able to make judgments,” Anyal said.

The Western Circuit Tourism Association Kenya, which had written to Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie about the failure to fill parastatal boards’ positions last month, said the grading will ease marketing of hotels in Western Kenya.

Through Western Kenya hotel association chairman Phelix Obuya, the lobby asked the ministry to market the western circuit more aggressively.

“The grading could not have come at a better time. Our efforts to boost tourism in the western circuit just got a shot in the arm,” said Mr Obuya.

BEST SERVICES

Following the enactment of the Tourism Act 2011, the previous grading of hotels were nullified.

“This notice therefore serves to notify the public of the impending exercise and encourage all hospitality service providers to cooperate with us as we start this important process,” said the regulator’s notice.

In the EAC rating standards,  a five-star hotel in Kenya will be expected to have the same quality of services and facilities as any other hotel with similar status in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda or Burundi.

The classification system brings out different aspects of service delivery, essential for customer satisfaction.  A five-star hotel, which is rated highest, has to provide the best services.

Some of the parameters cover physical characteristics such as location, dimensions of rooms, supplies in bathrooms and frequency of change of linen, as well as non-tangible elements such as style, elegance, comfort, finish and luxury.

The system also covers social contacts in aspects such as staff grooming and communication skills. They should also be considerate to the needs of the disabled.

— Additional reporting by Yvonne Kawira

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How facilities will earn points in ranking

The rating guidelines to be used in the exercise are based on the East African Community classification standards.

They range from  basic details such as the location of the facilities to the number of languages the staff speak as well as the security measures  for the facility.

For a hotel to be ranked one-star for instance, the front office staff should be able to communicate in English or French and Kiswahili while for three-star four-star and five-star, the requirement is the same as for one-star hotel but the head of department and some staff should be able to communicate at least in one foreign language recognised internationally.

In terms of security, for a one-star and two-star ranking, the hotel should have the main door and windows made of good quality, weather-resistant material and fitted with secure locking system, which also provides maximum privacy.

A five-star hotel should have functional electronic surveillance systems.

Fittings, equipment, and amenities in the bathroom should be modest, functional and include a shower and/or bathtub for a one-star rating. 

They should have a mixer and splash guard hanging naturally into the shower tray. The facilities should also have toilet paper holder, handwash basin with hot and cold water. And when a hotel adds a large mirror, it qualifies for a two-star ranking.

For a five-star ranking, the hotel should be fitted with hair dryers and telephone extensions.