No less than 386,144 star rated hotels worldwide are waiting for their guests. This is the result of the latest study by DELTA CHECK, operator of the world's largest hotel database. The unexpectedly high number amazes even seasoned hotel experts. Among these star rated hotels are 19,390 in the 5star range!
Seeing todays cruise companies trying to get a share in the highest revenue creating market segment is normal. The mass market companies can not create the revenue they need that easy in the lower end of the "food chain". The real money in the hospitality industry is created in the luxury end.
But refering to hospitality ratings - there is no such thing as a 6star or 7star rating! It is a "dairy tale" or "alternative fact" labeling a luxury/luxurious product more than 5stars. The rating for the top high end luxury is 5star, eventually with an added "+".
by Earl of Cruise
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| CAPE ROYALE Luxury hotel in Capetown - courtesy Hotels.com |
"This has a simple reason", explained DELTA CHECK founder Johannes K. Svoboda on the occasion of the presentation in London, "No one else had ever really counted it except us. We, too, could only count once we had entered all the hotels in our database worldwide."
More than three decades of research and development have been necessary since 1986 to fully collect, collect and enrich all hotel data worldwide - a global project that no one had ever dared before.
Now GARD, the `Global Accommodation Reference Database´ lists all 2.3 million existing hotels and commercial accommodation establishments in all 254 countries and territories worldwide.
GARD "thus ends all assumptions and estimates that were previously common in the hotel industry and replaces them with exact scientific facts for the first time.
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| Half of all star rated hotels are located in Europe. In second and third place were Asia with a 21% share, followed by America with 19%. Africa, Australia & Oceania, the Middle East and the Caribbean come together on 10% of all star hotels - courtesy DELTA CHECK |
GARD is the reference for hotel data. Customers such as BOOKING.com are among the long-time users. But also world-renowned universities such as CAMBRIDGE and CORNELL use DELTA CHECK's hotel database as a reliable database in science, research and teaching.
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| The individual segments show a distinctly symmetrical structure. At 45%, the medium market segment of 3-star hotels represents by far the largest market share. But the luxury segment of 5-star hotels is also surprisingly strong, with meanwhile almost 20,000 hotels worldwide. The so called 7star hotels are not shown in the graphic. |
Among the 386.144 star rated hotels are 19,390 5star hotels. While the 2star and 3star hotels are most offered in mass market tour packages. The 4star hotels are offered too in the mass market, but primarily target the business or executive (managers, etc.) travel market.
A small number of real 5star luxury hotels do not advertise the 5stars, and go with 4 or even 3 stars ... snobbish understatement? Yes and no - they avoid in first place the unhappy "starhopper", the real problematic guests, overdemanding, irritating arrogant and without style class and behavior.
As RITZ CARLTON HOTELS is emphazising: Ladies and Gentlemen are serving Ladies and Gentlemen ...
The next step should or must be a standardised rating method that will avoid fake stars, and avoid lying to the customers.
SWISS DE LUXE HOTELS
The luxury hotels invest in their properties most annually - e.g. SWISS DE LUXE HOTELS, a marketing group, founded in 1934, for the 41 well renowned Swiss De Luxe hotels anounced some years ago their members had been investing over CHF 25 million in upgrading the properties.
Beside especially the Swiss De Luxe hotels are able offering centuries old hospitality and quality incorporating the actual spirit of the times. It is not the luxury as in the crying of noisy marketing people, but the elegance of a bygone era presented contemporary. Samples for are the SPLENIDE ROYAL in Lugano, the BEAU RIVAGE HOTEL in Neuenburg (Neuenburg / Neuchâtel was formerly a Prussian territory in Switzerland) where you will find an exposition of technologic achievements of 19th century.
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| SPLENIDE ROYAL in Lugano - courtesy SPLENDIDE ROYAL |
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| BEAU RIVAGE HOTEL in Neuenburg / Neuchatel - courtesy BEAU RIVAGE HOTEL |
Hotel EDEN ROC in Ascona is located directly on the shores of Lake Maggiore. The rooms and suites have been redesigned by Carlo Rampazzi from Ticino and are now presented as individual works of art. The public spaces of the EDEN ROC also show the fine and sometimes dazzling handwriting of the artist and interior designer. Besides the hotel is emphasining its gourmet restaurants.
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| The modern construction of EDEN ROC in Ascona - courtesy EDEN ROC |
The global hotel industry had not really expected it – at least not that
fast. Non-hotel accommodation (private and semi private vendors) now lies neck and neck with hotel
accommodation: 1.08 million hotel properties worldwide stand vis-à-vis
1.05 million non-hotel properties. Here we find all kind of levels from basic standards to high end luxury.
It is intersting as these "private offers" or Para Hospitality is partly taking flats and/or houses that are needed for citizens to live in ... these flats are blocked for holiday seekers and can´t be used as daily living possibilities.
Further these "rentals", besides shortening the flat and housing market, cause a significant rise in rental and purchase rates!
Myth 7star hotel: The truth about hotel stars
And indeed: Actually, 7-star hotels are unlikely to exist.
All the houses I am introducing to you below are said to have seven stars. Most of them have been acclaimed by journalists because they offer an extremely high degree of luxury. Eventually those journalists never experienced the real luxury and their judgment is blurred by too much glitter ... serving a meal on VERSACE plates does not make the quality extraordinairy. Others have even been accepted into the Seven Star Olympics by official classification societies, and these classification societies are country based and not international standardised, or accepted, and yet others simply carry the seven stars in their names.
Since US travel agencies started labeling cruise ships and companies as 6star, the top luxury class is inflationairy upgraded to "fairy stars".
BURJ AL ARB JUMEIRA
The BURJ AL ARB JUMEIRA in Dubai, with its concise silhouette in the form of a sail, is probably one of the most famous hotels in the world and a landmark of the city. It is a symbol for luxury of the extra class and accordingly expensive. An overnight stay in a double room costs well over 1,000 euros. A "small" suite is already 170 m² in size - much more than the complete apartment of most people. It even goes so far here that you can reserve a Rolls Royce with chauffeur on request.
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| BURJ AL ARAB JUMEIRA in Dubai - courtesy BURJ AL ARAB JUMEIRA |
The House would certainly have deserved seven stars and has often received this categorisation from the press or in subjective evaluations on evaluation platforms. But there is no 7-star hotel on the website.
EMIRATES PALACE HOTEL
The United Arab Emirates are so rich that they have even created a second 7-star hotel. The EMIRATES PALACE HOTEL, a KEMPINSKI hotel, in Abu Dhabi is both inside and outside a luxury palace of unparalleled quality and rated even better by its guests than the BURJ AL ARB JUMEIRA. Among other things, it has a private beach, a marina and rooms with exclusive Arabic furniture that create an atmosphere of a thousand and one nights.
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| Kempinski hotel EMIRATES PALACE in Abu Dhabi - courtesy © Beno Saradzic for KEMPINSKI |
However, the hotel's website only advertises that the hotel offers more than five-star luxury. Of the seven stars, nothing is officially mentioned here either.
TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA
After its opening in 2007, the TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA HOTEL in Milano, the Italian epicenter of international fashion, received the title of the first 7-star hotel in the world. The certificate was awarded by SGS Italy (Société Générale de Surveillance) - a Swiss-based goods inspection company offering inspections, tests, certification services and verification.
Join TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA HOTEL as a true luxury experience in Milan at TownHouse Galleria,
holds on to its history while providing upscale accommodations. Live our
“Home away from Home“ tradition through a magical stay in a magical
place.
It was the only official 7star hotel in the world and advertised for a while in the hotel name: Seven Stars Galleria. This term has since disappeared from the hotel website. Only the Seven Stars Suites are reminiscent of the seven stars.
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| TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall - courtesy PREFERED HOTELS & RESORTS |
Does the hotel really deserve 7star certification? That's debatable. It is certainly something special because of its location in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in the heart of Milano's old town, and the personal butler should be able to read every wish from the guests' eyes. But in the ratings on trivago it still received only 79 out of 100 possible points. This is by no means bad, but it is also not really a very good luxury hotel. For example, the TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA lacked its own spa for a long time, but it was opened on April 10th, 2016. The lack of sunlight in the rooms was also often criticized.
SHANGRI-LA BOSPHORUS
As is customary for the SHANGRI-LA HOTELS & RESORTS, the SHANGRI-LA BOSPHORUS is a luxury hotel in a class of its own, where every wish is read through your eyes. The rooms start at 42 m². Many of them offer a fantastic view over the Bosporus from the private terrace. In addition, you can relax in the Chi Spa in a Turkish Hamam and get all the knots massaged out of your body.
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| The SHANGRI-LA HOTELS & RESORTS, SHANGRI-LA BOSPHORUS in Istanbul - courtesy SHANGRI-LA HOTELS & RESORTS |
Even before the construction of SHANGRI-LA BOSPHORUS began in 2010, it was praised by many websites and journalists as the first 7star hotel in Turkey. In the meantime the hotel is finished, but on its website you won't find the "Seven" in connection with the hotel stars.
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| The exterior façade is reminiscent of the neighbouring Dolmabahçe Palace. © SHANGRI-LA HOTELS & RESORTS |
You don't have to fly to Turkey to melt away in a hamam before relaxing. There are also fantastic Hamam hotels in Germany and other countries.
PANGU PLAZA 7 Star
Did the hotel owners of the PANGU PLAZA 7 Star perhaps lift their stars out of the sky? The origin of the seven stars is completely unclear.
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| PANGU PLAZA in Beijing - courtesy KIWI COLLECTION |
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| The atmosphere in the lobby is impressive ... for those who love the "Midas Touch" - courtesy © PANGU PLAZA |
Apart from that, this luxury hotel doesn't have to hide. The interior design was created by the famous Italian designer Ricardo Bello Dias. He combined oriental style and western elements in a manner that fit the tastes of nouveau rich. Despite its styling, the hotel is the top address for all luxury lovers who travel to Beijing. The richest man in the world, Bill Gates, is said to have spent a night here during the Olympic Games.
KARKLOOF SAFARI SPA
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| KARKLOOF SAFARI SPA - screenshot courtesy from KARKLOOF SAFARI SPA website |
Among connoisseurs, the KARKLOOF SAFARI SPA Hotel near Pietermaritzburg in South Africa has long been referred to as a 7-star hotel. What is on offer here would also deserve eight stars if they existed, e. g. individually designed private villas in which you can't get out of amazement, your own vehicle for safari trips and an exotic spa with a view of the wild landscape and the surrounding gardens. The beauty of the surrounding nature is a luxury in itself.
However, the hotel only advertises itself with the official five stars.
However, the hotel only advertises itself with the official five stars.
LAUCALA ISLAND RESORT
The LAUCALA ISLAND RESORT is the true island paradise in the South Seas. The construction of the house on LAUCALA ISLAND, which is littered with tropical rainforest and sugar-white sandy beaches, took three years. Only very few guests go on holiday in the 25 villas at the same time and a team of about 300 people takes care of them.
In the Hilltop Residence, on the mountains of the island, 11.000 m² of privacy is available! In addition, there is a private panoramic pool area, two spacious guesthouses as well as private cook, chauffeur and nanny. More luxury is almost impossible.
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| LAUCALA ISLAND RESORT - screenshot from LAUCALA ISLAND RESORT video |
No wonder that the term 7-star hotel is used in the same breath as the hotel name. But officially, this hotel is also "only" a five-star hotel.
LAUCALA ISLAND RESORT video - source: YouTube
In the same category are the islands resorts FRIGATE SILAND, part of the OETKER COLLECTION and NECKAR ISLAND, a property of Sir Richard Branson.
AMAN CANAL GRANDE
At the AMAN CANALGRANDE in Venezia Bastian Schweinsteiger, the German soccer player and part of the World Championship Winning team 2014, married tennis player Ana Ivanovic on July 12th. For the celebration they rented the complete 16th century palazzo on the Grand Canal. Not exactly a cheap treat: A room in this magnificent hotel costs several thousand Euros per night. Guests sleep here with a view of the canal or private garden.
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| AMAN CANAL GRANDE in Venezia - courtesy AMAN CANAL GRANDE |
Officially, however, the hotel is only described by the media as a 7star hotel.
Hotel classification - How are hotel stars awarded?
There is no uniform international award system for hotel stars. In different countries they are awarded according to different criteria. Internationally, hotels are classified into five stars. However, there are exceptions here too.
The national classification systems for hotel evaluation outside the HSU (Hotelstars Union) show some serious differences. Classification is compulsory in some countries, voluntary in others, some countries only know regional standards and others do not. In Spain, hotels are evaluated decentrally according to 17 different regional classification laws. There is still no official system in Finland and Norway."
by Kristin Scheibel, Speaker German Hotel Classification
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As you can see, the whole concept with the hotel stars is very washed out. And the more with cruise ships and druis companies.
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ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XIII - Le NORMANDIE the great triumph and tragic end of the greatest ship of France
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Design - Is appearance important? Of ships?
Heritage - ORIENT EXPRESS living history
ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XIII - Le NORMANDIE the great triumph and tragic end of the greatest ship of France
ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XII - The Most Beautiful Ocean Liner Ever Built
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