Does your bed and breakfast have a quality rating? If not have you considered the advantages to having one? Official quality assurance logos help position your business in your desired target market within today’s competitive tourism industry, whilst offering your B&B professionalism, credibility and visibility.

Quality ratings and logos help potential guests gauge an idea of what they can expect from your establishment whilst helping attract the target market that your bed and breakfast is tailored toward. It is important that your guests know what to expect from your B&B; a value rating can provide assurance to guests that their expectations will be met, especially if they are familiar with other providers whom also display the same logo.

Various schemes are available to B&B owners, many of which are recognised internationally and / or nationally. A few well known New Zealand schemes include Qualmark , GreenGlobe and the New Zealand Tourism Guide which offers weekly tourism awards to sites that meet their excellence criteria and enhance New Zealand as a travel destination.

Each scheme will have its own set of requirements, standards and processes for gaining a status. These can be useful tools to see how your business compares with industry grade standards. Once you have been assigned a grade :

- Use it in the promotion of your accommodation.
- Enquire about related special awards and competitions available through the quality assurance company you select.
- Be sure to display any accolade your B&B is awarded to compliment your marketing efforts.

Expect to be assessed on your bed and breakfast’s cleanliness, ambience, hospitality, service, food and beverages. Most commonly stars are used as an indication of quality categorised on a scale of one to five, where one generally represents simple/budget providers and five represents outstanding / luxurious providers. If your star rating is lower than what you expected, your quality assurance company can provide guidelines on what is required for a higher star rating. This is another excellent exercise in aligning your bed and breakfast with your desired target market.

Another benefit of having an officially recognised grade is that many other New Zealand and International tourism industries also display and support the same assurance assessor’s, thus their endorsement reflects positively on your bed and breakfast.

Investing in a quality rating for your B&B will attract value conscious guests, giving them an idea of your accommodations class and the level of facilities and services provided. Having an officially recognised mark such as Qualmark associated with your business shows your dedication to providing a professional and high value service.