Fewer and fewer hotels and holiday accommodations in Germany are still certified with stars. According to figures from the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) and the German Tourism Association (DTV), the number of classified establishments has fallen significantly in recent years. According to Norbert Kunz, Managing Director of the DTV, information and booking behaviour has changed as digitalisation has progressed. Holiday accommodation is now predominantly searched for on the internet. Seals with verified quality are supplemented by user reviews on online portals.
According to the DTV, there were just under 66,000 certified holiday homes or flats in 2010. Currently, there are just under 23,500. This decline is also noticeable in the number of star-certified hotels, which have fallen to their lowest level in the past 15 years. According to Dehoga, just over 8,200 hotels were awarded stars in 2011, compared to around 6,300 in 2025.
Wi-Fi more important than a bidet
There was a noticeable decline during the coronavirus pandemic, when many reclassifications could not be carried out, according to the Dehoga-Association. In general, the number of hotels in Germany is falling due to closures or insolvencies. Nevertheless, the association emphasises that the official German hotel classification remains an orientation and quality system - even in a changing market.
Tourism professor Harald Zeiss is not surprised by the dwindling importance of stars as a criterion for quality. "Even if the certifications are adapted: The ratings have fallen out of time," says the director of the Institute for Tourism Research at the Harz University of Applied Sciences. "Today, Wi-Fi plays a much bigger role than whether the room has a bidet." Guests can filter much more finely online and search according to individual criteria. In addition, the effort for hotels is relatively high. "In the end, it's not worth the effort for many."
According to the tourism association's survey, the awarding of themed labels, such as "Bed + Bike", "Wanderbares Deutschland" or "Reisen für alle", is becoming more important. The number of establishments awarded these labels has risen in recent years. / dpa
