Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
20
Figure 3: Conventional Hospitality Standards Matrix – Measurement Criteria and Frequency
Source: DinarStandard
Hospitality quality standards typically measure a range of features, which are published so
that hotels can work toward improving them. Elements such as physical features and
available services are commonly measured among various standards. Standards help hotels
differentiate themselves from competition and communicate a certain level of quality. On the
other hand, conventional17 and alternative18 hotel standards have different focus areas.
Governments or hotel associations usually lead in setting the former, while independent
organizations or startups have typically taken the leadership role in the latter. Conventional
standards are sometimes required, while alternative standards are less prevalent.
Overall, conventional quality standards typically measure criteria related to: lobby/reception,
hotel services, guest rooms/bathrooms, leisure amenities, food and beverages, and exterior.
For example, the HOTREC Hotelstars19 standard considers 270 criteria across seven
categories: general hotel information, reception and services, rooms, gastronomy, event
facilities, leisure, and quality and online activities 20. According to this standard, a 1-star hotel
would receive anywhere from 90-170 points, while a 5-star hotel would receive anywhere
from 600-700 points. For some criteria, a certain minimum requirement is set to attain a
17 Measuring hotel quality
18 Measuring hotel attributes other than conventional “quality”
19 Hotelstars criteria is available in the appendix.
20 Hotelstars Union. Criteria 2015-2020. Vienna: Hotelstars Union, 2015. . Hotelstars Union, Feb. 2015. Web. 5
Oct. 2016.