You have decorated the apartment with the latest furniture, completed it with beautiful decorations and details, enabled WiFi access and your accommodation finally exudes luxury and comfort just the way you wanted.
But despite all the effort and beauty of the interior, your apartment did not get the categorization you expected? Are you afraid that guests will be less interested in your accommodation because of a star or two less?
We decided to “address” this topic for all renters who are in doubt and fear of categorization and provide answers to the question of what actually depends on the number of stars and whether they really have an impact when choosing an accommodation unit.
Categorization of apartments and legal renting
Categorization of accommodation is important, necessary, and mandatory. But when we talk about the importance of categorization, we only mean respecting the law. You can rent legally only if you have completed the accommodation categorization process. Otherwise, you risk paying dizzyingly high fines.
So, categorization is important for you so that you can legally and safely perform the duties of a landlord, but its role in choosing accommodation is not even close.
3 stars for modern accommodation and for the one with “grandma’s” furniture
There is an ancient apartment in which nothing has been invested for 20 years, and still has three stars, which often confuses guests.
For this reason, the Ministry decided to make some changes in order to achieve an equal position of all renters in the market. This will “force” the old renters to invest in their accommodation, but again they will not fully reward the excellent apartments which, due to some trifles, will not be able to earn a star anymore.
Stars are important to the inspection, not to the guests
Once you have solved all the necessary paperwork and documentation for categorization, the number of stars should not worry you. When renting accommodation, most guests choose according to some other criteria such as type of accommodation, free internet, proximity to the beach or city center, view, and the like.
Most landlords will agree that when corresponding or making a phone call with a potential guest, they rarely or never get the question, “And how many stars does your apartment have?”. It’s something that guests experience more as a decoration or don’t experience at all. The only people who really care about the number of stars are the tourist inspectors.
Guests pay more attention to additional facilities, they are also interested in the offer of the place in general and other things that have nothing to do with the number of stars.
Many accommodation advertising sites do not even have a “star rating” option among the filters. There are even those pages where you will see the “coffee machine” filter rather than the “star number”. This is exactly one of the main indicators of the (in) importance of stars. Based on the photos, description of the accommodation as well as reviews, guests conclude whether a particular apartment suits them, the complete offer, and of course, the price.
Why don’t you worry about the number of stars?
Very often a better and more luxuriously decorated apartment can have a star or even two less than less luxurious accommodation of a larger area. Why is it like that?
According to the Ordinance on categorization and minimum conditions, in order for a certain apartment to receive the maximum number of stars, in addition to all the comfort and technology, it must also have the exact prescribed square footage and ceiling height. In other words, your apartment can be luxurious and equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as electric shutters, remote control of curtains, and all other wonders, but if it lacks only one square meter, nothing from the maximum number of stars.
You have to take into account the size of the bed, and even mirrors, lighting, air conditioning, the number of free sockets, and many other crucial factors. There are also some somewhat absurd conditions such as a landline phone in the bathroom, and for four or five stars in the apartment, you must also have papers, envelopes, and other writing utensils. Let’s face it, it’s not a problem to buy a notebook, envelopes, and ballpoint pens, but it’s one of those things that we believe almost no one would remember, and they play a role in categorizing accommodation.
Another article on this blog that may interests you:
Why accommodation is the most significant part of your trip