Accordingly, on September 18, online room booking sites such as Agoda, Booking... no longer displayed the star ratings of many "self-proclaimed 5-star hotels" in Hoi An.
Le Pavillon Hoi An Gallery Hotel at 288 Nguyen Duy Hieu, Hoi An City has removed its self-proclaimed 5-star ranking from the display section on Agoda - Photo: BD
Many 5-star hotels suddenly... no problem
On Agoda, the star rating display of Le Pavillon Hoi An Gallery Hotel at 288 Nguyen Duy Hieu (Hoi An) has been hidden. Previously, in reality and on other platforms, the chain of Le Pavillon Hoi An accommodation facilities were densely assigned 4-5 star ratings, although the authorities have not yet certified the star rating for these facilities.
When speaking to reporters, Le Pavillon Hoi An staff explained that the self-starring was just a marketing move. The stone with four stars on the signboard of the accommodation facility is simply... four stones! Although the hotel has not been granted 4-5 stars, the standard that this unit provides to guests is "local standard, stars according to local ranking".
Similarly, on its fanpage, KOI resort Hoi An in Cua Dai ward also removed false information about its standards such as "5-star service", "meeting 5-star standards"...
The image of 4 stars at the entrance of Le Pavillon hotel at 145B Tran Nhan Tong, Hoi An was explained by the hotel staff as just 4 stones - Photo: BD
However, there are still many hotels that have not been certified but continue to label 4-5 stars, causing confusion for tourists. At 3:00 p.m. on September 18, Belleriver Hoi An Hotel at 33 Le Dai Hanh continued to display this as a 5-star accommodation on the Agoda platform.
Similarly, KOI resort Hoi An, although removed from its fanpage, still displays incorrect star ratings of this accommodation on online room sales channels.
Crack down on self-proclaimed "5-star" hotels
Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that after Tuoi Tre's article, the department conducted a surprise inspection and found that many tourist accommodation establishments had not been assessed and recognized as having stars according to regulations but were still using terms such as "a five-star", "5-star", "most prestigious", "best"... to advertise on websites, Facebook, Booking, Traveloka, Agoda... This has caused confusion about star ratings for tourists.
To improve the tourism environment, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam requires businesses to strictly comply with current regulations.
Although not yet recognized as a 5-star hotel, this hotel continues to display a 5-star image on the online room sales platform - Photo: BD
Do not use the words "best", "only", "best", "number one" or words with similar meanings in advertising without legal documents to prove it; do not use images or advertising words that are incorrect or misleading about the business capacity or ability to provide products, goods or services.
Explaining why, despite the rectification document, many accommodation areas still self-assign 4-5 stars on online platforms, a representative of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam said that because the servers of these platforms are located abroad, it takes quite a while to process.
"We are asking businesses to work with the owners of these platforms to make edits that do not mislead tourists," the representative said.
