The French aim to improve the state of their hotels by introducing a new star system. There are already plans for more luxury hotels so the reputation of uncleanliness and rudeness may disappear. The project will require a 10 billion EURO investment. Most tourists only have good words to say about France after visiting. The wine, the food, the mountains and the spectacular countryside often come in for praise, yet the state of many French hotels often feel the heat of criticism. They are notoriously dirty and inadequate by west-European standards. The staff has often been accused of being rude and this may explain why France has been such a popular camping destination in the past.However, the situation is about to change due to the influx of luxury hotels and the
introduction of a new classification system so customers really know what they are getting for their money. The previous classic star system was in operation for 23 years and whilst the hotels of Paris and the rest of France were changing, often for the worse, the amount of stars remained the same. Now, misleading information should be eradicated.The 0 star and 4 star ‘luxe’ shall disappear as they belong to the old system.
There shall be a 5-star ‘palace’ installed and 8 luxury hotels in Paris shall be under this umbrella. It has been estimated that of the 27 000 hotels, which are set to be available in France over the next few years, 150 of them will have the 5-star ‘palace’ status. The Marriott brand of hotels is set to open its 10th hotel in Paris this year whereas Radisson is set to make further investments in the French market. A huge advantage for the French hotel market could well be the change in the VAT rate from 19.6% to 5.5%. Related: Magazine Supplement (pdf)
Professional: Hotel Rankings without Limit
