SA’s tourism industry is typically quick to adapt. Dynamic pricing, AI-driven systems and real-time guest feedback have revolutionised how businesses operate.
Yet the Tourism Grading Council of SA (TGCSA) remains stuck in a 2019 mindset, clinging to an outdated grading system that fails to capture the realities of modern hospitality.
When assessors come around every year, hoteliers like myself need to ask: what value does this grading process still bring to our businesses?
For decades the TGCSA’s star-rating system has been the go-to standard for evaluating accommodation. But, let’s face it: those stars no longer shine as brightly.
This problem has gradually slipped by because even though times have changed, their criteria still focus on whether a room should have a TV with a minimum of nine channels on it, or if “signage is well-lit”, rather than the actual guest experience.
Today’s travellers expect their rooms to be spotless before arriving, which should be a given. They care more about how the hotel will accommodate their needs for the stay, not whether an assessor ticked a box on a paper form last year. This change is driven by the fact that travellers have many online tools at their fingertips to help them decide where to stay.
If they were unsatisfied with their experience, there might be a review online before they check out. The comments on a hotel’s social media page are now critical criteria for people who are trying to pick where they’re going to spend their hard-earned money.
In the ever-evolving world of hospitality, where technology and guest preferences shape the landscape, one must ask: is the TGCSA still relevant? While admirable in its intention, this system is increasingly at odds with how hotels operate today.
Are these standards fit for the industry?
The TGCSA grading process might have worked in the past, but tourism has changed greatly in five years. The industry now thrives on data, agility and constant adaptation.
When you have exhaustive grading criteria that focus on everything from parking to pillow protectors — yet disregard factors that speak to a modern guest’s experiences — these standards feel more like a nostalgic relic than a meaningful benchmark.
Guests today want to know how often the room is cleaned, how friendly the staff is, and how the hotel adds to the joy of their travel experience. The TGCSA’s criteria dismiss the professionals they claim to evaluate.
For example, telling hoteliers that “all bedding must be free of stains, holes and fraying” or that “reasonable effort is made to minimise noise levels,” is an insult to their craft. If the standards are simple things one would expect at any establishment that takes themselves seriously, they are just plain arbitrary and irrelevant.
The industry is in an era where dynamic pricing has turned hotel rooms into commodities, shifting rates minute-by-minute based on demand. Yet the TGCSA still evaluates properties on fixed criteria that ignore the fluidity of today’s marketplace.
A three-star hotel in Johannesburg can charge more than a five-star lodge during peak periods. What meaning do those stars then carry?
The council claims its criteria have been reviewed to “ensure we remain relevant [and] globally benchmarked,” but where is the evidence?
Contrast TGCSA with globally respected systems like the Michelin guide, where assessors bring world-class expertise and provide actionable insights. By comparison, TGCSA inspections often leave hoteliers scratching their heads.
An unhelpful system that is losing trust
Instead of empowering businesses to excel, TGCSA forces them to conform. By setting rigid and often costly standards, the council creates barriers for smaller, innovative establishments and favours big players with deep pockets.
New entrants — particularly boutique hotels or those focused on sustainability — find the system neither accessible nor beneficial.
Grading assessors, as some hoteliers have lamented, often fail to provide actionable feedback, leaving establishments questioning the value of their annual fees.
The industry credentials of these assessors should be clear before they arrive for an assessment. A property developer wouldn’t hire an architect or quantity surveyor without relevant experience so why should a hotel be marked by people who don’t have industry credentials of their own?
For independent hotels, particularly those just starting out, criteria that offer more incentive to perform or guidance on how to improve would be beneficial. At the moment this process is unwelcoming and unhelpful. The truth is that TGCSA stars are also meaningless because there is no accountability. Online reviews with faces and names of real people behind them are trusted over static star ratings.
There are no consequences for properties that misuse or fake their star status. What’s stopping anyone from slapping a five-star badge on their website? Apparently, not much.
Sustainability — the missing link
In an era when sustainability is an existential question hanging over the future of tourism, the TGCSA lags. There’s a growing global focus on eco-friendly certifications, and the council's grading system has little to say about a property’s environmental practices. This is a missed opportunity. A robust grading system could incentivise hotels to adopt sustainable measures, from energy conservation to waste management, aligning with modern travellers’ values.
When corporate clients and online travel agents are looking to make a booking they search for independent verification of a hotel’s sustainability credentials.
Such a certification from the council wouldn’t just help drive bookings, it could be a tangible assessment that keeps us honest about the environmental work we claim to be doing.
Why should hoteliers care?
It is hard to see the return on investment offered by the grading fees we pay annually, leaving hotel owners wondering why they should even bother. If being graded by the TGCSA doesn’t bring bookings or improve guest experiences, what’s the point of this annual exercise?
The question is not whether we need grading standards but how they can evolve. What if inspections moved from being annual, analogue events to real-time, data-rich processes? A shift towards capturing guest feedback and benchmarking properties based on genuine experiences could reinvigorate the TGCSA’s relevance. Added to this transparency about assessors’ qualifications and an alignment with international standards could restore trust in the system.
Ultimately, the TGCSA’s role should be less about dictating and more about empowering. Let’s move from a static, bureaucratic model to one that champions continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainability.
We are only as good as our latest online review, and hotels don’t thrive because of a plaque on the wall. They succeed because of the experiences they deliver and the reviews those experiences generate.
Perhaps it’s time for TGCSA to review itself.
• Gillis is CEO of the Hotel Asset Management Company.
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