Hospitality operators under new star classification system

Sri Lankan hotels and other leisure service providers will soon be subjected to new classification systems, which will be gazetted shortly, a top official said. Mirror Business learns that the authorities have been testing an updated star classification system recently. “We will be bringing that, and new classifications for places like spas,” Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Paddy Withana confirmed.He said that the new regulations have been forwarded to the government publisher for gazetting.

All hotels registered with the SLTDA may opt to be classified, earning points by fulfilling certain conditions in a checklist to be graded from onestar to the prestigious five-star category. However, some star-classified hotels were reported to be displaying their grading despite not subscribing to their annual renewal. While the revised star classification system for hotels is yet to be seen, the checklist is said to feature many aspects on environmental friendliness such as energy management and construction and staff well-being such as ample sleeping and living space. Mirror Business learns that during the grading carried recently with the revised checklist, a handful of five-star properties had been relegated to the four-star classification due to poor treatment of, or the lack of proper infrastructure for, their staff.

A hotel of one of the three largest tourism operators in the country had been included in this group, which has since rectified its shortcomings and had asked for a re-grading. The star classification system, which has been followed to this day, was introduced in the Tourist Development Act No. 14 of 1968, conceived during the institutional birth of tourism in Sri Lanka. The exact regulations on classifying were only published in a 1999 gazette notification. The classification system has not been revised since then despite constant changes witnessed in the marketplace. For example, boutique hotels or concept hotels, which may provide better services and luxury compared to a five-star city hotel, may be graded as one or two-star hotels due to room restrictions, or the need to air-condition the reception, or many other such minute details.

Therefore, such hotels describe themselves as ‘five-star equivalent’ and avoid classifications. Regulations have been catching up, with the SLTDA recently deciding to give a seal of approval to informal establishments that pass certain quality standards and register with the authority. The decision to classify establishments such as spas—some of which have been used as fronts for criminal activities—may be considered another step in the right direction.