Hotel stars and category: who awards them, whether you can show them on your website and why Google, Booking.com and AI show something else (2026)

Updated: 9 November 2026

A hotel's stars are not an opinion: in southern Europe they are an official classification. Even so, Google, Booking.com or an AI assistant may show a different number. Here we explain who awards stars in Andalusia, Portugal, Italy and Greece, what platforms may show and what to put on your website. We checked official gazettes and websites (links at the end). This is not legal advice: where we could not confirm something we say so.

Andalusia (Spain): awarded by the regional government

Decree-Law 13/2020 regulates hotel establishments:

Groups: hotels, aparthotels, hostales, pensiones and albergues (hostels).
Hotels and aparthotels: 1 to 5 stars. 5-star hotels may add «Gran Lujo» if they reach the required score. Hostales: 1 or 2 stars. Pensiones and albergues: a single category.
Classification is mandatory. It goes through a responsible declaration and registration in the Andalusian Tourism Register. The regional tourism department is competent and may review it.
You must display the official plaque outside the main entrance, where it can be seen.
The Andalusian Tourism Act 13/2011 treats using signs, symbols or badges that do not match your classification, and misleading advertising, as serious offences: fines of EUR 2,001 to 18,000. Not displaying the badge is a minor offence: up to EUR 2,000.
Holiday homes (viviendas de uso turístico) have no stars under this decree.

Portugal: Turismo de Portugal or the municipality

According to Turismo de Portugal's official classification page:

Turismo de Portugal classifies hotels, holiday villages, tourist apartments, tourist complexes and rural hotels. Municipalities classify campsites, turismo de habitação, country houses and agritourism.
Hotels: 1 to 5 stars. Holiday villages, tourist apartments and rural hotels: 3 to 5. Pousadas show no stars.
There is an audit. The classification is reviewed every five years and can be reviewed at any time.
The plaque goes outside, next to the main entrance, within 10 working days of being notified.
Local accommodation (alojamento local) has no official stars. Turismo de Portugal's guide says it may not use «any classification system» or present itself as a tourist development. It may use commercial labels, including from private bodies.
The legal framework is Decree-Law 39/2008. We could not open the Diário da República to confirm which requirements ordinance is in force today.

Italy: each region decides

There is no single national classification. Checked example: Tuscany, Regional Law 61/2024:

Hotels (alberghi) have 1 to 5 stars.
The operator declares the classification with the SCIA, filed online with the SUAP. The Comune may check it at any time and lower it.
Only 4- or 5-star hotels may call themselves «grand hotel».
Advertising a higher level than you hold: fine of EUR 600 to 3,600, doubled if repeated within two years.
Campania and other regions: we have not checked. Look at your region's law or ask your Comune.

Greece: the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels

In the text the Ministry of Tourism put to public consultation (replacing art. 6 of Law 4276/2014), the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (ΞΕΕ) classifies hotels into stars. The certificate is valid for five years and is filed with the tourism service.
We have not confirmed that this text is the one in force today, nor the details of the criteria (joint ministerial decision) or the ΜΗΤΕ register. Ask the Chamber or your adviser.

Hotelstars Union is private

Hotelstars Union is an international non-profit association based in Brussels, founded in 2009 under the patronage of HOTREC. Its stars are not the official ones of Andalusia, Portugal or Tuscany. In its 2026 factsheet, Spain, Portugal and Italy are not listed as members. It has a Greek version of its website, but we have not confirmed its role there.

Why Google shows a different class

According to Google Business Profile Help, Google gathers data from third-party partners, its own research and hoteliers, and uses machine learning (price, location, room size, amenities). It is Google's own hotel class, not the official one, and not your review score. If it does not match, Google asks you to contact it through its help pages.

Why Booking.com shows something else

Yellow stars: provided by the property or by an independent third party, depending on local rules. Booking.com does not review them, but may ask for proof or change them.
Yellow squares: Booking.com's own «quality rating», from 1 to 5. It is calculated from more than 400 data points: facilities, set-up, photos, reviews and bookings. It is not an official category.

And AI assistants

AI assistants read your website, Google, OTAs and other pages. If each source says something different, they may repeat the wrong number. We have not checked how each one decides. What you can control: make your website and listings say the same thing and show who awarded your category.

What to put on your website

Only the category on your official decision or registration: «4-star hotel», «2-star hostal».
Use the official plaque or badge, never a made-up one.
If you run local accommodation or a holiday home, do not show stars.
In structured data, use schema.org starRating (type Rating, with ratingValue) and its author for the awarding body. schema.org says official stars are not reviews.
Do not mix your review score with your stars.

Advertising a category you do not have

Besides tourism rules, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC treats as misleading a practice with false information on the main characteristics of the service or on the trader (art. 6). Its Annex I always bans displaying a quality mark without authorisation or claiming an approval you do not have.

10-minute check

Find your official decision or registration and note group and category.
Compare it with your website, Google, Booking.com and other OTAs.
Fix your website and extranet; for Google, use Business Profile Help.
Check your starRating markup.
Make sure the plaque is at the entrance.

How iQuota helps

iQuota does not classify hotels or award stars. We publish your property in AI assistants with direct booking and payment at the property, using the data you give us. If your official category is clear and the same everywhere, AI has less room to get it wrong.

Want an official booking page AI can read and a connector with your real prices, commission-free? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Can I show 4 stars on my website if I think I deserve them?

No. In Andalusia, using badges that do not match your classification is a serious offence (Act 13/2011, art. 71). Show only your official category.

Why does Google show 3 stars when I am a 4-star hotel?

Google calculates its own hotel class from several sources. If it does not match, contact Google through Business Profile Help.

Are Booking.com's squares stars?

No. They are Booking.com's own quality rating, based on more than 400 data points. Stars are the official ones.

Sources

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