Luxury Chinese hotel goes from five stars to no stars
13/12/2007 17:26
A luxury hotel that lost millions of yuan to a swindling manager has
become China's first five-star hotel to lose its star status after a
re-evaluation by China's tourism authority. The Shenzhen Grand View Hotel, in
south China's Guangdong Province, has admitted that its facilities and services
failed to meet five-star standards, but vowed to try to win back its five
stars. The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has begun
re-evaluating the star ratings of Chinese hotels, which used to enjoy permanent
star status. The CNTA initiated re-evaluations of star hotels last year, and
hundreds of hotels, with four-star status or below, were blacklisted. It said
the re-evaluations of star hotels would be conducted every five years. The
Shenzhen Grand View, founded in 1999, was the first five-star hotel to lose its
status in a re-evaluation. "Our hotel failed the re-evaluation on account of
substandard facilities," general manager Deng Jingchen told Xinhua. Deng
explained the hotel was unable to refurbish because its previous general manager
ran away with tens of millions of yuan in funds last year, seriously affecting
the hotel's operations. He said the 221-room hotel was still open for
business, and was making improvements to meet standards. "We will apply for
the five-star status next year if we can make it," Deng said. A statement
posted on the website of the CNTA said the hotel's establishments, facilities
and services failed to meet five-star standards. A CNTA official said the
administration planned to hold a press conference to give further details, when
asked to comment on the statement. "The CNTA's move could help consolidate
standards in the hotel sector, and the canceling of permanent star status will
prompt hotels to make more efforts to build their reputations," said a staff
member of the China Hotel Management Association, surnamed Zhang. Guangdong
Province has the largest number of five-star hotels among all provincial areas,
at more than 50, according to the local tourism administration.
Xinhua
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