Hotel rating system in Qatar

The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has recently completed the first phase of an innovative, new hotel classification system which will raise service standards in the industry and provide greater transparency for the country's future visitors. The step comes with Qatar moving forward rapidly in its tourism development, with ever more hotel accommodation becoming available and Doha's new international airport also taking shape.

The ratings system is being carried out in two phases with all hotels initially being assessed on core fundamentals such as their service and facilities provision, quantity and size of rooms and hygiene levels. This stage is now virtually complete, with all properties having been assessed, and hotels will receive their respective classifications by the end of the summer. The second phase, due to be undertaken early next year, will reward hotels for any particularly special services or exceptional facilities they offer.

Five star ceiling
Speaking to AME Info, the QTA's Acting Director General, Jan Poul de Boer, said the ratings scheme was a means by which to inform tourists of what was on offer in the country's hotels and it was not intended to open up the possibility of trumping some of the region's supposed six or seven star offerings.

'We have given ratings up to five star level. We do not want to go into the realms of what they are doing in Dubai by going up to six or seven stars for example. This will just lead to a less transparent market and it will not really portray what the consumer is looking for.'

The implementation of the first phase was carried out very swiftly and the QTA received good feedback on the initiative from Qatar's hospitality sector. De Boer said the new policy has also been welcomed by prospective investors in the Qatari hotel sector as they now have a clear idea of what is expected by way of services and facilities at various levels of the market.

'We have set out for hoteliers the various criteria that we require, as a governmental body, from different ranked hotels. So, if investors come in with a lot of money and they want to build a four star or five star hotel for example, they can come to us at the QTA and we will effectively offer them a one-stop shop. We can tell them exactly what we expect from the type of hotel they want to build. We have already had some major hotel groups knocking on our door asking for these guidelines.'

Foundation for the future
With Qatar's tourism development still in the 'initial phase of the tourism life-cycle' as de Boer describes it, the QTA was keen to set down a framework for future development, especially with more than 7,000 hotel rooms currently being developed in the country.

'We are expanding very quickly now in Qatar with more accommodation due to come online. It is good to have this sort of foundation for the future sustainability of the sector. It benefits visitors too of course as they will come here knowing exactly what to expect.'

One of the most imaginative aspects of the new system, which will be implemented in the second phase, involves the voluntary assessment of hotels on more qualitative factors. The upshot of this will be that a three or four star property can still compete with more luxurious hotels if it offers something special.

'All hotels, in addition to their one to five star assessment, will also be given an initial bronze rating and they can try to distinguish themselves by moving this up to silver or gold if they offer particularly good facilities or services. So, this means you can then have a four star hotel with a gold ranking, due to its quality of service, set against a five star hotel with a bronze rating.'

Annual assessments
While many of Qatar's hotels will possibly be proudly displaying shiny plaques outside their establishments within a couple of months, indicating their new star ratings, no operator will be able to wrest on its laurels.

'Every hotel will undergo an annual check to make sure standards are being maintained and the ratings are being sustained. We have trained a number of Qatari nationals as hotel inspectors and they will carry out the assessments.'

Qatar's hotels are currently running at an average occupancy rate of around 75 per cent and last year revenue per available room spiked by around 20 per cent, so the new system is being imposed on all already effective and successful sector but de Boer sees long-term benefits.

'We have never done this before but when we get it right, it will definitely be to the benefit of all stakeholders. This has been a combined and collective effort to raise the standards of the sector'.

World most expensive hotels. "Four seasons hotel"

European capitals, despite all their beauty and unique atmosphere, have long been forgotten quiet and calm.
Noisy and busy city every second recalls itself, but because of the increasing number of tourists, choosing his place of rest, prefers "a" capital : such as an unforgettable Budapest.
Here miraculously combines a European standard of living, beautiful architecture and tranquillity that seemed to be found only in small towns. To fully enjoy Budapest, to feel his spirit, choose a place of stopping the hotel Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace. To book a hotel use online reservation system.
This is a palace built in 1906 by architect Zigmund Kuittnerom. Carefully restored today, Gresham Palace is a beautiful piece of architecture Nouveau, with its intricate forms and lots of small pieces.
Numerous stained-glass windows, mosaics, screw stairs, ironwork furniture, winter gardens with exotic plants are all happy eyes, easily seen and elegance. To these architectural works of art can enjoy beer from all over the world, spent more than a hundred million dollars to turn the Palace hotel, and a worthwhile investment in the project funds.
The Gresham Palace is one of the best online luxury hotel Four Seasons: both decoration, and the infrastructure. 179 rooms and 16 suites harmoniously to continue, given the processing of the hotel (booking), and offers a magnificent view of the Danube and the Buda hills.

New Orleans Hotels

Reservations for hotels at the single-occupancy rates below may be made through the web site at www.go4travel.net

Here is a list of New Orleans Hotels from Qualicumrn

1 Chateau Sonesta Hotel New Orleans (attendees only)

800 Iberville St., at the entrance to the French Quarter, 1 [1/2] miles from the convention center. $156/night.

2 Doubletree Hotel New Orleans (attendees only)

300 Canal St., overlooking the Mississippi River. It is across the street from the French Quarter, and four blocks from the convention center. $177/night.

3 Embassy Suites Hotel (exhibitors/attendees)

315 Julia St., in the Arts District, four blocks from the French Quarter and two blocks from the convention center. $192lnight.

4 The Fairmont New Orleans (exhibitors/attendees)

123 Baronne St., adjacent to the French Quarter and one mile from the convention center. $179/night.

5 Hilton New Orleans Riverside (exhibitors/attendees)

2 Poydras St., on the banks of the Mississippi River, 1 block from the convention center. $239/night.

6 Holiday Inn French Quarter (attendees only)

124 Royal St., in the heart of the French Quarter, and 1 mile from the convention center. $142/night.

7 Hotel InterContinental New Orleans (attendees only)

444 St Charles Ave., in the central business district, and 6 blocks from the convention center. $1 80/night.

8 Hotel Monteleone (exhibitors/attendees)

214 Royal St., in the French Quarter and 1 mile from the convention center. $169/night.

9 Hyatt Regency New Orleans (exhibitors/attendees)

Poydras Plaza at Loyola Avenue near the Louisiana Superdome and 1 mile from the convention center. $165/night.

10 Marriott New Orleans (exhibitors/attendees)

555 Canal St., 2 blocks from Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, and 1 [1/4] miles from the convention center. $199/night.

11 Omni Royal Orleans (exhibitors/attendees)

621 St. Louis St., in the French Quarter and 1 [1/2] miles from the convention center. $1 89/night.

12 Radisson Hotel New Orleans (attendees only)

1500 Canal St., 8 blocks from the French Quarter, and 1 [1/2] miles from the convention center. $1 19/night.

13 Ramada Plaza Hotel-The Inn on Bourbon (attendees only)

541 Bourbon St., in the heart of the French Quarter, and 1 [1/2] miles from the convention center, $169/night.

14 Sheraton New Orleans Hotel (exhibitors/attendees)

500 Canal St., across the street from the French Quarter, and five blocks from the convention center. $179/night.

15 Windsor Court Hotel (exhibitors/attendees)

300 Gravier St., in the central business district, 4 blocks from the French Quarter, and 4 blocks from the convention center. $250/night.

Thailand hotels rate blog

The classification of hotels

To date in the hotel there is no single organization hotel services and establishes the level of the hotel. Usually there is a national association of hotels. It also monitors and hotel-compliance. The popular tourist point of view of this is that most of the major hotels trying to enter into a national association that sets standards and certifies their hotels around on the following criteria :

* 1-Standard double room should be around 8-10 m? The spacious locker room, chairs, wash basin, a mirror, two towels for each client. Daily cleaning, changing clothes should be every 7-8 days, towels every 3-4 days. At least two bathrooms on the floor and one toilet for not more than five rooms. To book hotel you can use online systems like www.go4travel.net.

* 2-All the same as in hotels 1 *, only a change of clothes every six days. Toilet and bath usually are in the room. You must also be a restaurant or cafe, as well as provide options for food.

* 3-From * Category 3 or higher in each room must be made available toilet and bathroom, toilet, table stand for luggage, radio, etc. Numbers mostly three-except for the cheapest, with a TV, air conditioning. Floors are usually warm colors. Bed linen is two times a week. Towels are changing every day. The fragrance of your offer only soap. Some hotels can hire an iron. The hotel is located : parking, swimming pool (in resort hotels), a restaurant, bar, business centre, currency exchange. Our staff dressed in uniforms designed for the division. Rooms from 10 to 12 sq.m. It`s the best choice, to book the hotels I recommend to try www.finderhotel.com

* 4-All that 3 * hotels, plus : Normally, minibar, individual air-conditioning, telephone, safe, hair dryer, shampoo, bath gel in each room (usually issued on the day). Changed daily, bed linen and towels. Provides services such as washing, ironing and dry cleaning (with a minimum order-day). Price list can be found at the reception. The room served breakfast menu. The following hotels are : beauty salon, fitness center, car rental, TV-room, a music room, game and meeting rooms, restaurant, sauna, swimming pool, etc. Size of rooms, usually less than 13 sq.m.

* 5 - Same as 4 * hotels, but even better. And sometimes second bathroom in the room and a telephone in the bathroom. Numbers less than 16 sq.m. The hotels-4 * 5 * is a style (apartments), several elevators, all kinds of additional services such as laundry, dry cleaning, breakfast and a dinner later in the number of foreign exchange, call a taxi, selling newspapers, souvenirs and so on. Book best hotels via internet.

When walk-in hotel rate is cheaper

It's expected of a happy-go-lucky person to travel without booking hotel accommodation because all there is to worry about is a place to park for the night, but if you are spending more than a night at any place you better book in advance.

One of our friends recently returned from France. She booked a hotel room for two nights via the internet thinking that she would be able to extend her booking if the need arose. She checked into the hotel and found it was alright, except that the room was rather small, but felt too lazy to look for another place.

But the morning after when she told the hotel that she wanted to extend her stay to ten days, she was told that that was not possible because the room was not available on some days.

She had to look for accommodation elsewhere. Fortunately, she found one next to the hotel she was staying in and it was better _ more spacious room, wider range of facilities and cheaper too.

That's when she realised that the internet rate can be much higher than the walk-in rate.

Customer complaint
`The customer is king,'' is what all marketing men have to keep in mind. This applies even more to those in the hotel and hospitality business. All customer complaints should be handled in a professional manner. But that is easier said than done.

Following is a true story of a guest who stayed as a business guest at a standard hotel in Europe and you can judge yourself if the hotel staff delivered the service professionally.

In the morning when the guest in question reported for breakfast he found the restaurant full of tourists who not only occupied all the seats but had eaten up all the food.

Disappointed as one should be, the guest complained to the hotel staff who promptly said the problem would be taken care of. That evening when our friend returned to her room on the TV screen appeared a message which read something like, ``Since the hotel has received a lot of complaints from guests regarding insufficient food for breakfast, may we remind you that you should wake up and go down earlier so that you have food to eat.''

Well, that is some way of dealing with customer complaints. Sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?.

As safe as it can be

The southernmost province of Narathiwat is known to harbour a large Muslim population and it's no secret why Western tourists are reluctant to travel there.

At the height of the war in Iraq a Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) staff told Horizons that he was often asked by foreign tourists whether it was safe to travel to the province bordering Malaysia.

``Many tourists, especially Americans, asked me if they would be attacked by Muslims if they travelled to Narathiwat,'' said the TAT staff.

``And what did you say?'' we asked out of curiosity.

``Well, don't tell anybody that you are American. I'm a Muslim too but I'm not going to do any harm to you. Believe me. That was what I said.''

Of course, the tourist was shocked. He walked away from the TAT officer. What ever was on the mind of that tourist we don't know but we did pray for him that he wouldn't encounter any untoward incident while touring the southern region.

Travel tips to Europe

Travel guides make backpacking through Europe sound easy. The idea that you could travel from Paris to wake up the next morning in Venice seems almost too good to be true.

They promote the idea for the low-budget traveller And if you don't keep some pointers in mind, the true experience is far from that image.

A Travel Talk fan shared her experience from backpacking in Europe. She said there are still more to know and to learn that even the best guide books have never told their readers.

Here are a few more tips for travellers wanting to go backpacking in Europe.

- Almost every camp site has a swimming pool. At night, when no one is making use of it, you can keep your water bottles cool by putting them in the pool water.

- Many trains charge an additional amount above the regular ticket price. This is almost always the case with the Couchette, the sleeper trains, and many high-speed trains, such as the Thalys and the TGV.

- Sometimes even regular trains charge you an additional fair as well. Italian trains are notorious for charging supplements whenever they feel like it. Check first to see if you need to pay extra. In many countries trains which require a supplement are marked on the timetable in red.

- Many European trains split in two parts half-way through the journey with the two halves ending up at different destinations. Each carriage should carry a sign indicating the stops en-route with the destination station clearly marked. Make sure you get on the right carriage by checking the seat number on your ticket.

Read more about Europe travelling in this blog