Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
33
2.3 Effects of Standards on the Accommodation Sector
According to a recent WTO study, accommodation providers reap a number of important
benefits from following hospitality standards. To begin with, they help small and independent
hotels in their positioning efforts. Standards also serve as both expectation indicators and
quality assurance for guests and lead to increased destination attractiveness and guest
satisfaction. They facilitate comparability and add credibility to hotels’ offerings. Standards
also help motivate staff and increase hotel rates and margins. 58 Other research studies also
indicate that hospitality standards have a number of positive effects on accommodation
establishments adopting them, including signaling quality to consumers, increasing customer
satisfaction levels, and achieving higher operational efficiency.
Consumers perceive both conventional and alternative mainstream hotel quality standards as
quality signals; which is why many new hotel chains seek certification. For example, Rosen
Shingle Creek, an upscale hotel in the United States, applied for the AAA standard as soon as it
started operations. After nine months, the hotel was awarded the “Four Diamond” rating by
the AAA. The hotel benefited from the immediate publicity it received upon recognition of
meeting the standard, it appeared in the AAA list of hotels meeting Four Diamond criteria, and
was allowed to use the AAA rating as a shorthand symbol of quality to visitors and potential
guests.59 Likewise, quality marks, like the privately issued Service Qualität Deutschland in
Germany, can signal a level of service that potential guests can expect.60 Similarly, user
generated ratings are often displayed in conjunction with standard hotel star ratings to
provide potential guests with a further level of granular data to refine their decisions (e.g.,
TripAdvisor). Other standards can also play a role in influencing decision-making for certain
niche consumers. For example, some hotels61 have taken measures to be certified “kosher.”
Existing research suggests that some types of standards can affect guest satisfaction at hotels.
A recent article published in Cornell Hospitality Quarterly found that “overall guests rate the
hotels with ISO 14001 certification higher than those without the certification,”62 based on an
evaluation of >6,000 hotels in Spain using guest feedback from However, it is
worth noting that the Cornell article found the positive effect of adherence to the ISO 14001
environmental standards on guest satisfaction levels to be muted at the 5-star and 3-star
levels, and only prominent as a “distinct market advantage” at the 4-star level. The article
could only speculate that environmental standards might not be significantly valued by
budget-conscious 3-star customers and might be “lost in a sea of other luxurious amenities”
by premium-seeking 5-star customers.
There is a positive relationship between environmental standards and operational efficiency.
A recent study by Zhang et al. on the impact of environmental standards on hotel efficiency in
58 Hotel Classification Systems: Recurrence of Criteria in 4 and 5 Star Hotels. Rep. Madrid: World Tourism Organization, 2015.
Hotel Classification Systems: Recurrence of Criteria in 4 and 5 Star Hotels. UNWTO, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
59 Deatrick, Mary. "Rosen Shingle Creek Awarded Prestigious AAA Four-Diamond Status." Rosen Shingle Creek. N.p., 22 June
2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
60 Diana Foris. "Comparative Analysis of Hotel Classification and Quality Mark in Hospitality." Journal of Tourism and
Hospitality Management 2.1 (2014): 26-39. David Publishing, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
61 Ferber, Alona. "Eight Things You Never Knew Israeli Hotels Do to Be Certified Kosher." Jewish World Travel. Haaretz, 06
Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
62 Peiró-Signes, A., Segarra-Oña, M., Verma, R., Mondéjar-Jiménez, J., & Vargas-Vargas, M. (2014). The impact of
environmental certification on hotel guest ratings [Electronic version]. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55(1), 40-51.