The Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade has decided to verify the accuracy of hotel star ratings. To this end, a thorough review will be conducted of all advertising and promotional information sources where hotels list their star ratings. This decision was made in response to increasing complaints from tourists regarding discrepancies between the actual star ratings of hotels and the information provided in advertising catalogues and websites.
According to the ministry, “hotels that award themselves extra stars are deliberately misleading their customers and are, in essence, fraudulent.”
With the start of summer holidays, the number of tourists at Turkish resorts has increased sharply, and with them, consumer complaints about "star rating scams" have also increased. Consequently, it was decided to conduct a comprehensive review of all advertising information about hotels, including the availability and number of stars. Hotel owners who provide false information to their customers will face substantial fines.
To avoid fraud, the Ministry of Commerce recommends that tourists check the star rating of a hotel in advance on the website of the General Directorate of Investment and Entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Culture of Turkey.
Million-dollar fines from the Advertising Council
Complaints from defrauded tourists are submitted directly to the Advertising Council of the Ministry of Commerce. After reviewing all the facts, the offending hotel is levied a substantial fine. The total amount of fines paid has already reached 10 million Turkish lira.
