In a first of its kind initiative, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has certified thirteen hotels in Maharashtra under new norms that are more contemporary and global in standards as compared to existing ratings. Part of the national body of Federation of the Hotels and Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI), HRAWI has been the voice of the industry in the Western region for the last 67 years. A first of its kind independent classification system in India will follow the global practice of trade bodies rating hotels and ensuring adherence to best practices and standards.
As per the new norms, hotel properties will be classified, rated or graded under six categories listed as Budget, Classic, Premium, Luxury, Deluxe Luxury and Primo Luxury, and will be uniform for both domestic and foreign tourists. The Shalimar Hotel, The Fern Residency, Golden Swan Beach Resort, The Emerald, Peninsula Grand Hotel, Sun-N-Sand Hotel, Holiday Inn Mumbai international Airport, Waterstones Hotel, T24 Residency, Hotel Transit, Hotel Meluha, Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre and Hyatt Place are among the first hotels to have been audited as per the new classification standards and are officially certified as of 25th October, 2017.
With this classification system HRAWI hopes to remove any ambiguity for tourists checking into an Indian Hospitality Quality Standards (IHQS) Certified Hotel. The objective behind this initiative is to bring in standards of evaluation and parity that are in line with international standards, as well as making redundant some criteria in star ratings that have become irrelevant today.
Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI said, “The objective behind developing the IHQS is to educate our members on modern quality standards as well as reduce the burden of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT). Presently the MoT is responsible for conducting audits and rating hotels. So now the Government can focus on improving and promoting tourism, while we from the industry are doing our bit to support the initiative.”
HRAWI has engaged an external agency for the purpose of auditing hotels which will independently verify and award each hotel a fair classification based on product and service standards experienced. Along with the awarded certificate, the agency will transparently share a detailed scorecard that will allow the hotel to make improvements if and where required.
Kamlesh Barot, past President, FHRAI & HRAWI said, “Simplification and transparency are the key objectives of IHQS Certification and so our published guidelines are available on our website that will ensure that hoteliers know exactly what entails one’s establishment to receive the Certification. The applicant can choose their facility-wise gradation, depending on the market they cater to, rather than it being an imposition from a novice official’s perspective, allowing the guest preference to overtake impractical implementation of some orthodox guidelines. Over the past many years, standards have suffered a terrible dilution of a simple goal of explaining to the consumers what they can expect from a hotel. Also in the interim, several hotel service companies such as Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and many self-appointed quality monitoring and advisory – review sites have mushroomed announcing and creating their own standards. These entities may not even be equipped to audit hotel establishments but are defining the industry standards and misleading guests.”
The practice of hotel classification has its roots in the early seventies when the hotel industry was in its nascent stage and the influx of international tourists had just begun to make a reasonable impact on India’s foreign exchange. The then Government through the DoT supported the industry by helping define standards for guests expecting world class services by marketing them internationally. However since then, the scenario has changed drastically and the gap between customers’ expectations and hotels’ deliverables has widened.
