RIGA - Beginning in 2007, the Baltic and Scandinavian regions will combine their hotel rating systems, Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association director Santa Graikste announced on Sept. 16.
The decision was originally made on Aug. 15, she added, during a meeting between the region's hospitality associations in Vilnius.
Graikste told the Baltic News Service that the current participants - Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Latvia 's had yet to agree on definite criteria and implementation standards for the rating system. Estonia has not fully decided if they will join the regional project.
The new system will standardize the region's current five-star rating in order to define exactly what type of service tourists can expect from participating hotels and restaurants.
Representatives from each participating country will meet in Copenhangen later this fall to select a classification committee for the new system. The committee will be in charge of selecting a hotel's rating, deciding what criteria can change this in the future, and how the new information will be distributed to customers.
Graikste did not provide any more detailed information, saying only that the commission would consider "quantifiable criteria like the size of a room, the type of bathroom facilities, and the level of service." Those hotels that meet the committee's new criteria will receive a certificate of compliance.
