Quang Nam rectifies hotels claiming to be '4, 5 stars'

Many accommodation establishments in Hoi An city were inspected for introducing themselves as "4 or 5" star hotels when they were not recognized by the authorities.

Director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thanh Hong said the department inspected tourist accommodation establishments in Hoi An city on September 11 and discovered that some hotels had not been recognized as accommodation establishments but had been given stars, and used misleading advertising words.

Hotels that have not been recognized as accommodation establishments but have "starred" or advertised as "4 stars" or "5 stars" include Le Pavillon Luxury Hoi An Resort & Spa, Allegro Hoi An Little Luxury Hotel & Spa, Koi Resort & Spa Hoi An, Bellerive Hoi An Hotel & Spa. Le Pavillon Luxury Hoi An Resort & Spa has not been recognized as a tourist accommodation establishment but has attached 4 stars on a stone sign (now dismantled) in front of the gate and advertised (4 stars) on the hotel website and e-commerce sites.

The four-star stone sign of Le Pavillon Hoi An Hotel was installed in front of the entrance and was removed before the inspection team arrived. Photo: Son Thuy — *The four-star stone plaque of Le Pavillon Hoi An Hotel was installed in front of the entrance (now removed). Photo: Son Thuy*

In addition, the inspection team discovered that many hotels, although not yet recognized as accommodation establishments, were "starred" in transactions on e-commerce sites specializing in tourism and travel such as Booking, Agoda, and Traveloka.

The inspection team recommended that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam issue a document requesting that tourist accommodation establishments strictly comply with legal regulations in their business activities of tourist accommodation services and advertising activities. Hotels must not use confusing words about star ratings when they have not been recognized, and must not use the words "first", "only", "best" or similar meanings without legal documents to prove it.

Speaking to VnExpress , a source from Booking said that the quality ratings of hotels on Booking.com are a synthesis of many factors related to partners who own accommodation facilities through the platform. The rating factors can change over time and are periodically reviewed. Accommodation facilities that trade on Booking do not rate themselves but are ranked based on the data they provide about their accommodation facilities and the reviews of guests who have stayed there.

Little Hoi An Group Marketing Manager Pham Hong Phuoc said the company "cannot control" customer comments because "when customers come to experience our service, they give us 5/5 on the star rating scale of foreign platforms, which is completely true." However, Mr. Phuoc said the company has followed the instructions from local authorities and revised the advertising wording to avoid misunderstandings.

This is not the first time hotels in Vietnam have made misleading advertising mistakes. In March, two hotels in Khanh Hoa were fined VND10 million by the government for "arbitrarily designating themselves as 4 stars" for advertising.

An official from the National Tourism Administration said that according to the provisions of the 2017 Tourism Law, local tourism management agencies (departments of culture, sports and tourism) will classify tourist accommodation establishments into 1-3 stars and check their conditions. The National Tourism Administration will classify them into 4-5 stars. Accommodation establishments that meet the conditions will apply for classification and cannot arbitrarily classify or upgrade their star ratings.

The National Tourism Administration will conduct inspections of ranked tourist accommodation establishments, revoke the classification decisions of some establishments that do not maintain quality, and notify and remove from the list establishments whose classification decisions have expired.

Phuong Anh - Dac Thanh

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