The Tourism Bureau yesterday made it easier for travelers to pick a hotel after launching the nation’s first star-rating system.
Up to now, the hotel rating system in Taiwan used plum blossoms to indicate the level of service quality. However, foreign tourists did not understand what the plum blossoms signified. The credibility of the rating system was also questioned, as the bureau invited hoteliers to review other hotels.
Yang Yeong-sheng (楊永盛), public relations director at the bureau, said a hotel must obtain a five-star rating before it can promote itself as such.
“Those making false claims about the quality of the hotel’s services will be punished according to the Fair Trade Act [公平交易法],” Yang said. “Violators will face penalties of between NT$50,000 [US$1,650] and NT$25 million.”
Eight hotels received five-star ratings yesterday after being evaluated by the Taiwan Assessment and Evaluation Association, an independent institution entrusted by the bureau with reviewing facilities and service quality at hotels.
The eight are the Sheraton Taipei, the Evergreen Plaza Hotel Tainan, the Landis Taipei, the Evergreen Laurel Hotel Taichung, the Evergreen Laurel Hotel Taipei, the Kaohsiung Ambassador Hotel, the Kenting Cesar Park Hotel and Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei.
Six hotels received a one-star rating. The Zhong Ke Hotel in Taichung and five others were rated two-star, while the Forward Hotel Taipei and two others were rated three-star. The Miramar Garden in Taipei was the only four-star hotel.
The rating lasts for three years.
Some of the nation’s best-known hotels, including Taipei’s Ambassador Hotel, the Fleur de Chine Hotel at Sun Moon Lake and the Lalu Sun Moon Lake, were not on the list because they had yet to participate in the evaluation.
As an incentive, Yang said the bureau would cover the costs of the evaluation if hoteliers filed applications before Aug. 31 next year.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said the ministry hoped to create a rating system that would make Taiwan “in sync” with international standards.
“A one-star hotel need not try to become a five-star hotel,” Mao said of the need for hotels to find their own niche. “Rather, a hotelier can simply work on attracting customers who prefer the service of a one-star hotel to that of a five-star hotel.”
Some participants were not happy with the result of evaluations, prompting Tourism Bureau Director General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) to emphasize that the process was fair.
“There will always be complaints regardless of what you do,” Lai said. “We hope the rating system will ensure that the price customers pay matches the value of the services obtained.”
The bureau said a total of 40 hoteliers volunteered for evaluation in the first round. Twenty-four accepted the results, while 16 either decided to opt out or requested a re-evaluation.
During the first stage of an evaluation, experts including architects, interior designers and retired hotel industry representatives assess the facilities. Hotels securing a three-star rating are eligible to enter the second stage, to determine if they get a four-star or five-star rating.
Establishments qualifying for the second-stage are reviewed by other experts, who pose as customers to test how hotel staff react to various requests.
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