Self-catering | Star Rating criteria

What will be assessed?

Your business will receive a Quality Assurance Grading Visit by one of our Quality and Tourism Advisors, who will ensure the correct Star rating is awarded to your property following an objective overview and assessment of the guest experience. 

There are two main aspects which are assessed: 

• The appropriate levels of quality must score in line with the star rating awarded 

• All minimum entry requirements, including confirmation of compliance with all applicable statutory obligations, need to be in place. 

How are businesses scored?

During the visit, the Quality and Tourism Advisor will make an assessment in a potential 44 areas, depending on the nature of the business, giving a score out of 5 to reflect the intrinsic quality and condition of an item.  

The 1-5 score reflects a quality range from an acceptable to an exceptional standard: 

• 5/5 - exceptional 
• 4/5 - excellent
• 3/5 - very good
• 2/5 - good
• 1/5 - acceptable 

Key areas and scoring

Once all sections are assessed, an overall score will give a percentage that will place your establishment in the parameters of one of the 5 grading bands. However, it is not simply the overall percentage that determines the final award. For any award, there are 5 key areas that must meet minimum scores of the final award that is confirmed. For example: 

• If any of the 5 key areas score below the band of the overall percentage, it is the lower award that will be confirmed.
• In addition, if a self-catering property scores a two or below for cleanliness, this will result in no award being confirmed, as the property will be failing to meet visitor expectations to merit an award

Please note where any area is not applicable, no assessment will be made and there will be no penalty for not providing any of these facilities or services. 

Award confirmation and report

After your visit you will receive a detailed written report on the guest experience with individual scores applied to each section. Areas in which you excel will be highlighted and advice given on areas to strengthen. This will give you a benchmark for maintaining the current level of award and detail any improvements to implement should you wish to aim for a higher award.  Ultimately, offering a consistent level of quality across all areas of the business should help manage guest expectations and enhance the guest experience.