A new “star” rating system for hotels and resorts in the Philippines is to be implemented by the Department of Tourism (DOT) – but a global hospitality consulting firm says that the system is impractical, unnecessary and out-dated.
Asia-based hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks said that hotel and resort owners in the country are against the star rating system.
“It’s an antiquated system. It’s a system that is defunct,” C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett said in an interview.
Barnett said assets of individual resorts and hotels are being downgraded and should just let the market decide.
The Department of Tourism however stands firm on its position that the star rating system will help the Philippines and the tourism sector move forward.
DOT noted that the efforts to install the rating system will ‘raise the bar’ for Philippine hotels and resorts and align them with global standards.
“This is a system by which we are able to come up with a standard that will make us competitive. A set of standards that the international community will understand,” DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengzon said.
The new star rating system will push through on the third week of November and will affect 700 accredited tourism accommodation providers throughout the country.
The formal classification comprises of five levels that range from one to five stars, based on a point system focusing on inventory, availability, condition and quality of facilities.
The previously used “deluxe,” “first-class,” “standard,” and “economy” classification will soon be dropped.
Latest data showed the Philippines had an influx of 3.6-million visitors, which created an estimated revenue of 152.19-billion pesos.
Department of Tourism spokesman noted that although reaching 5-million tourists in 2015 is doable, the deterrent for visiting the country is still infrastructure and basic transportation issues.
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