The stars displayed on a hotel indicate to guests what level of comfort and standard they can expect. To ensure a fair and equitable allocation, there is an extensive catalog of requirements that hotels must meet. However, the current version for the years 2025 to 2030 is now causing discussions. Hoteliers accuse the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) and the European Hotelstars Union of undermining sustainability. What is the truth, and what new criteria are there?

New Hotel Star Catalog

Every five years, the hotel star criteria of the 21 member countries of the European Hotelstars Union are updated, and the new criteria are causing dissatisfaction among hoteliers, who believe that this forces wasteful practices instead of rewarding ecological measures. The number of stars a hotel ultimately receives results from a combination of meeting minimum criteria and the points achieved. At the top of the relevant requirements remains the comfort and quality of a hotel, while sustainable concepts are more in the "nice-to-have" category. Overall, the catalog contains 247 criteria; here are some examples from the current version:

Daily room cleaning remains an absolute must from the first hotel star.

An E-charging station is not mandatory, but it is rewarded with 10 points.

- New is that a bike garage gets 3 points.

If breakfast consists of a "significant proportion" of regional products, it now earns 5 points.

- Luxury is also recognized, as a bellboy and a doorman each receive 15 points.

In a five-star hotel, a bathrobe and slippers in the room are mandatory.

-          From three stars, a hairdryer is a must.

Comfort is also rewarded: mattresses with a width of 200 cm or a length of 220 cm earn 15 points.

The certification with a sustainability label (e.g., GreenSign) earns 20 points, regardless of which level or which.unknown nodeDegree reached

A measurement of the CO2 footprint earns 10 points.

Sustainability remains not a main criterion.

Despite the climate crisis and the desire of travelers to promote sustainability in hotels, this will no longer be rewarded with stars in the new hotel star catalog. The explanation and justification for this, according to Markus Luthe, Managing Director of DEHOGA Deutsche Hotelklassifizierung GmbH, is as follows: "The hotel classification should be understood as a quality initiative that focuses on creating comfort and quality categories. It is therefore clearly to be distinguished from specialized sustainability labels that focus on other aspects."

One has certainly taken into account the increased awareness of guests for sustainable travel, but hotel stars are not a sustainability label and are not a substitute for one. The main focus of the classification is on people who value quality and comfort – they can orient themselves based on the stars awarded.

Critics argue that this should have been connected, as according to a current study by the online booking platform Booking.com involving 27,000 travelers from 33 countries, over half – specifically 53 percent – favored a hotel that combines comfort with sustainability. The younger generation, in particular, is less interested in stars than in authenticity, honesty, and environmental protection. Experts are convinced that only with sustainability can the hotel industry remain viable for the future.

Point of contention: Daily room cleaning

A mandatory requirement for star ratings (starting from the first star) is daily room cleaning, which is hardly justifiable from an ecological standpoint. However, many hoteliers consider this daily cleaning not only unnecessary but also ecologically nonsensical. Given the scale of hotels, the consumption of electricity, water, and (chemical) cleaners for daily room cleaning is significantly impactful.

For example, in 2019, the Berlin chain A&O, with its then 39 properties, introduced an opt-out option that allowed guests to voluntarily forgo daily cleaning. In just two months, this saved 10,000 cleanings. According to A&O, this meant: 75,000 liters of water, 708 kWh of electricity, and 20,000 plastic garbage bags saved just by a voluntary regulation for guests. However, DEHOGA does not support this opt-out option, arguing that hygienic standards can only be ensured through daily room cleaning.

And for the Hotelstars Union, daily cleaning is "an essential component of the service offering" and one of the main distinguishing features from private room rentals. An opt-in option, where guests would have to explicitly request that their rooms be cleaned, was also rejected. Ben Förtsch, owner of Hotel Luise in Erlangen, who wanted to offer such a solution, cannot understand this rejection: "Why this hygiene, safety, and cleanliness would not be provided if the guest actively requests cleaning, instead of having to actively refuse it (...) is not clear to me personally."

And so the hotels can only make the guests aware, for example, to refrain from daily towel washing.