The hotel and tourism industry has taken a major step forward! ?

Yes, today’s hotel classification takes into account the digitalization of services such as dematerialized check-in, Internet access in all rooms and much more.

What are the new criteria?

Let’s start by looking at the new criteria for obtaining the famous Atout France stars, France’s tourism development agency. ⭐

Make a note of the April 1st date:

  • Widespread use of QR codes to make the accommodation welcome booklet available
  • Electronic check-in
  • Wifi access
  • A minimum of 3 short-distance food products when the establishment offers a catering service
  • The use of environmentally-friendly cleaning products
  • The obligation to inform customers about soft mobility solutions in the vicinity of the resort
  • Staff training on the 3 major resource-saving topics

How does the assessment work?

To start your journey towards the stars, you need to apply to Atout France for an assessment. Inspectors will come to your hotel to check your facilities.

For your information, the inspection is carried out by COFRAC (Comité Français d’Accréditation), an accredited firm that awards stars. As far as 1-3 star hotels are concerned, no suspense! They’ll be notified of the inspectors’ visit 😉
As for 4 and 5 star hotels, it’s trickier because they don’t know when the inspectors are going to come and play the role of ordinary guests in the hotel. And don’t forget that stars have to be re-evaluated every 5 years, to see how relevant they are. As mentioned above, it’s up to you to ask for them, otherwise you’ll unfortunately lose your precious stars…

Labels

As you probably know, labels are an integral part of the new criteria. A guarantee of quality to raise awareness or reassure your customers.

We’re going to focus on two labels: the European Ecolabel and the Tourisme & Handicap label. As far as the European Ecolabel is concerned, you need to implement certain environmental measures to obtain it. ?? For example :

  • Reduced energy and water consumption
  • Reducing waste production
  • Use of renewable resources
  • Raising customer awareness of environmental issues.

For the Tourisme & Handicap label, you need to offer a welcome and services adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. Of course, you can also use a teleservice to search for an establishment with the Tourisme et Handicap label.

Now all you have to do is implement these new criteria, and you’ll have the stars to match!