Second hotel grading commences

Uganda Tourism Board has embarked on the second phase of grading and classifying hotels and related accommodation facilities.

Under its quality assurance department, UTB has embarked on a hotel classification inventory exercise. The exercise verifies whether a given hotel meets the essential requirements.  

"To qualify for classification, the hotel has to meet all aspects of the essential requirement herewith attached," says James Ssebagala the UTB coordinator for quality assurance.

"This exercise identifies classifiable hotels for effective preparation for the hotel classification program," he added.

The phased grading means that travellers will now fully get the value of their spending on a chosen hotel while increasing overall competitiveness of the sector.

The East African criteria rating system is denoted by stars where one (1) star denotes the lowest and five (5) star the highest grade.

The EAC criterion has grouped hotels into five categories of town hotels (located within or near an urban center), vacation hotels (located within or near a holiday resort), motels (located along a highway or motorway). The others are villas Cottages and Service apartments and lodges and Tented Camps: Located within or near a natural habitat rich in fauna and flora. The majority of the clientele are leisure seekers.

Restaurants are an integral part of a tourist's visit to a place and as such the services offered by them can make or mar a visit.

Restaurants are increasingly becoming popular with tourists - both domestic and foreign. This is because the authentic food and particularly the variety cuisine that is traditional to the different parts of the country appeals to the visitor who may want to try out something new.

According to information from the board, to qualify for the minimum rating standard which is a 3- star, a restaurant must have all the 18 essential items.

These include water supply, communication systems, fire safety, electrical safety, first aid, qualified and experienced management staff, qualified and experienced department heads, health/medical examination for staff, insurance, occupational permit, valid operating licenses, menu, hand wash basin, wash rooms.

The others are drainage, waste disposal, sewage disposal and treatment and vermin proofing.
The first phase of grading of hotels was completed in 2015.

The attention has been only on stand-alone restaurant.