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Bulgarian Luxurious Hotels Risk Losing Star Rating

The Sofia Echo, Magdalena Rahn, 16.10.2006

Municipality representatives from around the country and representatives of organisations in the tourism sector have the possibility to opine about changes in the state’s star-rating system, used for places of accommodation, restauration and entertainment, until the end of October. This was announced on October 5 by the State Agency for Tourism, the daily Dnevnik reported. The agency specified that the act, along with the Law on Tourism, needs to be more precise and that all such rating actions need to be more coherent and correlated. This notice came as a result of the state’s announcement that the agency had refused to renew the five-star category of the hotel Hilton, located in Sofia. Reasons given for this decision were that the hotel didn’t meet the requirements of a five-star establishment. As a result of the agency’s pronouncement, the Hilton has filed a complaint against the State Agency for Tourism through the Supreme Administrative Court. The first session occurred the first week of October; the continuation will occur in November. It has surfaced that the Hilton is not the only hotel to regret a possible loss of status. In other cases as well, hotels that belong to international luxury chains will have possibly lost stars. Here, this is explained by the fact that, about two years ago, when the current star-rating system came into effect, it included changes to criteria for levels of attainment; some establishments had already obtained a rating, which they proceeded to keep. Now, the agency maintains, these places should change their ratings to coincide with the current requirements. It turns, though, that many such hotels are making efforts to maintain their higher classifications, effecting reconstruction to their buildings, which sometimes even include the construction of new premises. Until the new changes to the Law on Tourism and the state’s star-rating system come into effect, however, the evaluation procedures will continue according to actual criteria, the State Agency for Tourism said. Two Sofia hotels, at current, are in the process of receiving ratings: the Kempinski Hotel Zografski and the Sheraton. The Grand Hotel Sofia and the Radisson already have authenticated ratings, valid through the end of 2007, after which they will have to undergo, again, evaluation. The other five-star hotel in the capital, Anel, has received its rating under the current criteria. See source