St Helena : Accommodation Grading Pow-Wow
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Juanita Brock) 12.09.2006 (Article Archived on 26.09.2006)
The Tourist Office met with self-catering accommodation providers on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 August to discuss the pilot accommodation-grading scheme. The meetings took place at the Small Court Room in Jamestown.
Accommodation Grading Pow-Wow
The Tourist Office met with self-catering accommodation providers on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 August to discuss the pilot accommodation-grading scheme. The meetings took place at the Small Court Room in Jamestown.
The accommodation sector was well represented with 26 interested parties attending the sessions altogether. Pamela Young, Director of Tourism, opened with “Today we are making history, introducing St Helena’s first accommodation grading scheme; we are now moving into another level of tourism development and improving our products and services will be a key function for all of us.”
Currently, properties on St Helena are not graded. However, the intention is to have a grading system in place by January 2008. This is to be based on the British scheme with a few adjustments. The overall aim is to provide visitors with accurate information and to meet and, in most cases, exceed their expectations. Assessments will be carried out by Keith Brinsden, Joyce Harris and Wendy Benjamin and the pilot scheme will commence in January 2007.
Pamela explained that the criteria is easy to follow and she told those in attendance that the Tourist Office would be happy to provide advice and assistance on a one-to-one basis before assessments take place.
Nicola Osborne has received overseas training in accommodation grading and she explained how the scheme will work.
Anyone can participate and interested persons must register with the Tourist Office. Registration is currently free although this might change.
While grading is not compulsory Nicola explained some of the benefits. Grading represents recognition of quality, and being graded will open up promotional opportunities. Currently the Tourist Office promotes all establishments via their website, in brochures and by direct mailing. In the future they will only promote properties that are graded. A benefit to the visitor is that with properties graded they will have more idea of what to expect before arriving.
It was stressed that this would not be a competition to see who will achieve the highest grade. Instead, different grading would attract different types of visitors. Nicola explained that quite a few accommodation providers in the UK, refused a higher grade because they wanted to exceed their customers expectations!
Grades awarded during the pilot scheme will not be published, but when the scheme comes into place in 2008 grading will be included in promotional material and each establishment will be reviewed on an annual basis.
If there are complaints about a particular property after it has been graded, the establishment will be placed on probation for six months and if other problems occur with the same establishment, it will not be advertised by the Tourist Office for a period of one year. If the problem is really serious, then the Tourist Office will have no choice but to discontinue advertising the accommodation again, for one year. Generally, however the Tourist Office receives very few complaints about accommodation.
A number of questions were raised on the scheme. One person asked whether price bands would be set for various stars. While this will not be the case, it was felt that the market will dictate this. If a visitor was looking at accommodation and came across two establishments with both the same rates but one is a 1-star and the other a 3-star; it is likely that they would choose the 3-star. Currently all properties are let for around the same price but the expectation is that the higher the stars, the more expensive the rent.
Another person made a point that opinions on accommodation depended very much on personal tastes as it could be seen as fashionable to have beds without headboards or lighting without lampshades. This was acknowledged and it was clarified that this would not affect a grading.
While the Tourist Office is only looking at self-catering accommodation at this point in time, plans are in hand to assess hotels and guesthouses as well.
Public Relations/Information Office
Office of the Chief Secretary
8 September 2006
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