July 29: Hotels operating at the federal, state, and local levels have to use star signs to show their standards. The Department of Tourism has been rating hotels based on service facilities, quality, and capacity. The hotels have been broadly categorized into ordinary hotels, star-rated hotels, heritage hotels, and boutique hotels.

This is the first time that the government has directed hotels to put up star sign on their boards. The department has determined the signs by classifying all the levels of hotels and motels in the hospitality sector. The Department of Tourism has issued 16 signs for hotels and has mandated them to display them in the signboards.

The department has stated that the sign has been set to show the services provided by the hotels, quality, capacity as well as the infrastructure based on international practice and to maintain uniformity throughout Nepal. Hotels at all levels will be required to place a signboard with a brass plate, an emblem on the top, and a specified number of red stars below it.

The department has informed that the name of the hotel and resort should be mentioned under the red star. However, hotels that provide bed and breakfast service, motel, and tourist inns will not be allowed to include a star in the signboard.

According to the department, motels should have a red 'M' sign inside the circular line instead of the star, while tourist inn should also have 'I' inside the line, and the B&B should have 'B' and 'B' signs inside the line.

There are 12 types of signs for one-star to five-star hotels, deluxe hotels and luxury hotels. Accordingly, the five-star Deluxe category hotel will have to write the words 5 star and Deluxe on the signboard. 

Ordinary heritage boutique hotels have to place a 3-star and standard heritage boutique in the plate, and for deluxe heritage boutiques, 4 stars and name should be mentioned. There are five-star signs for luxury heritage boutique hotels, three-star signs for ordinary resorts, four-star signs for deluxe resorts, and five-star signs for luxury resorts. According to the department, hotels and resorts of all levels should have such signs at the entrance.

The department has also made arrangements for hotels to have logos of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) or other associations. Provision has been made for the use of these signs by tourist inns, motels, B&Bs, etc., which are currently registered with the tourism department.