Hospitality properties will continue to be rated on the scale of one to five stars, but new categories have been added to highlight their uniqueness.

Presently, all hotels are classified simply on the one to five stars rating, but the new system will rate in many categories including business, beach, desert and heritage.

The new star ratings for hotels and hotel apartments in the Arabian Gulf region's tourism hub which last year received close to seven million guests will replace the system that is in place since the past 12 years.
 
Mr. Majid Al Marri, Director of Classification at DTCM's Licensing and Classification Division, said the new hotel classification system has been in the works since the past three years and will pave the way for qualitative changes in the hospitality product offerings and enhance the service standards.
 
Under the new ratings, five-star hotels will have three categories - Platinum, Gold and Silver. The selection criteria for other hotels categories, ranging from four to one star, have also been overhauled.
 
The hotel apartments will now be rated in three categories instead of two – Basic, Standard and Deluxe. There will be no changes in Guest House classification, but
 
The department, through its industry consultative committees and other channels, sought the stakeholders' views and feedback in the run up to the finalization of the new classification.
 
The department has taken into consideration the industry trends and benchmarking hospitality properties' classification in several countries, including Australia, Spain, South Africa and the US.
 
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the 17th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) where the DTCM has put up a 1225-square metres stand featuring 87 booths and 114 co-participants. The world's third largest travel and tourism event is held under the aegis of DTCM.
 
Presently, Dubai has 540 hotels - 352 hotels and 188 hotel apartments- with 61,182 rooms and furnished flats. The number of properties is projected to go up by seven per cent by this year end; while the number of rooms and furnished flats will see a 30 per cent increase.
 
Dubai presently has 52 five-star hotels with a room inventory of 16,693, while 59 four-star hotels offer 10,817 rooms. There are 6975 rooms in 55 three-star hotels, 3807 rooms in 44 two-star hotels and 4719 rooms in 126 one-star hotels.
 
The new classification system has taken into consideration several factors to provide a system that matches international standards.
 
The previous classification system was introduced in 1998.
 
Hotels and hotel apartments already operating in Dubai were also studied to develop the new classification. The planned classification system will encompass several areas of hotel operations. Under the changes, existing hotel criteria could be upgraded to meet new minimum standards along with over structural elements.
 
He said the emirate's hotels and hotel apartments will be assessed under the new system from this year end. The need for a new system was identified as part of the quality assurance component of Dubai's tourism strategy. Tourism has become one of the main income generators for Dubai, accounting for 30 percent of GDP indirectly.
 
Mr. Majid said the classification aims at enhancing the accommodation service level, facilitating the selection of accommodations suitable to every category of visitors, international tour and travel agencies.