Star grading for guest houses, B&Bs and lodges, explained

What gets graded

The TGCSA grades seven families of establishment, each with its own criteria: formal accommodation (hotels, small hotels, boutique hotels and apartment hotels); guest accommodation (bed and breakfasts, guest houses and country houses); self-catering, exclusive or shared; game lodges and nature lodges; backpackers and hostels; caravan and camping sites; and venues for meetings and events. A B&B is generally up to three guest rooms and a guest house from four, and the criteria change with the category, so choosing the right one on the application matters.

How the assessment works

1. Apply online on the TGCSA website: identify the establishment and its category, settle the invoice, and upload the discount documents if you are claiming them.
2. The assessor visits. An accredited grading assessor contacts you, confirms a date, does the practical assessment on site, discusses the findings and agrees the recommended grading with you.
3. Scoring. The assessment is out of 1 000 points across standard criteria, worth 536, and category-specific criteria, worth 464: building exterior, bedrooms, bathrooms, public areas, general facilities, dining, general and service, housekeeping, additional facilities and responsible environmental practice.
4. Quality assurance. A provincial quality assurance specialist pre-screens the assessor’s recommendation, and the monthly property approvals committee makes the final decision.
5. Grace periods and dispensations. An establishment that misses a minimum requirement can motivate for a grace period to fix it within the grading year, or for a permanent dispensation where it cannot be fixed, such as a historic building that cannot alter its walls or showers only under a water-saving policy. The awards committee decides each case.
6. The award. An automated approval letter, the marketing collateral, the printed certificate and plaque, and a listing on the TGCSA site.

The bands map to one to five stars, subject to the minimum requirements for each star level, which is why a high-scoring property can still be held at four stars for a missing separate bath and shower.

What it costs, and the discount

The annual membership fee is worked out from three things: the type of establishment, the number of rooms or units in bands from one up to more than 350, and the average room rate per person per night including VAT, in bands from under R500 to over R5 000. Venues add a band for the number of conference rooms. The TGCSA’s fee estimate calculator on its website gives the number for your property; its own published example is five rooms at R750 a night paying R3 491 a year before discounts, and a new application adds a R295 joining fee. Payment is by EFT to the TGCSA’s Nedbank account once you have an invoice.

The Tourism Grading Support Programme is run by the TGCSA for the Department of Tourism and is built into the online application: tick the discount box and upload four documents, and the discount is applied to the invoice. It is open to new applicants and to renewals.

• A current SARS tax clearance, which the tax clearance PIN service produces.
• Business registration documents: CIPC documents for a company or close corporation, the partnership agreement, the trust deed, or the owner’s ID for a sole proprietor.
• A BEE certificate, or a sworn affidavit for an exempted micro enterprise or a qualifying small enterprise that is more than 51 percent black-owned. The free BEE affidavit builder produces it.
• Public liability insurance, the policy schedule.

All qualifying applicants get 80 percent off the assessment fee. Members of the Tourism Marketing Levy South Africa scheme, TOMSA, get a further 10 percent, so 90 percent. The discount is only applied if all four documents are uploaded.

The offence of borrowed stars

Section 59 of the Tourism Act makes three things offences, each with a fine or imprisonment of up to one year: professing to be a member of the grading scheme when you are not; using a star or stars, or any other prescribed insignia, for tourism services or facilities when you are not a member; and displaying more stars than you were awarded. The TGCSA runs a reporting line for illegal use of stars, and an establishment that lets its grading lapse and leaves the plaque up is in the second category.

What actually goes wrong

• Applying in the wrong category. A four-room property applying as a B&B, or a self-catering unit applying as guest accommodation, is assessed against the wrong criteria.
• Missing the discount by leaving out one of the four documents. The full fee is invoiced.
• An expired tax clearance at renewal, which loses the discount for that year.
• Ignoring the 120-day reminder. The grading lapses, the stars on the website and the sign become an offence, and re-grading means a fresh assessment.
• Expecting five stars for a beautiful property that has a shower over the bath. The minimum requirements are physical, and the dispensation route exists for a reason.

Frequently asked questions