Three, four or five stars.

Katja Müller from Müller Small Living gives tips on classifying holiday flats.

Do you own an attractive holiday flat and are looking for ways to achieve higher occupancy rates? Then you should consider a classification with the German Tourism Association. This will increase the visibility of your holiday home on the internet and signal the quality of your accommodation to your guests at first glance.

The range of holiday flats on offer is huge. It is therefore important to convince potential guests of the quality of your accommodation at first glance. A good way to do this is to have your holiday home classified by the German Tourism Association, the umbrella organisation for all tourism organisations in Germany. The association is committed to high quality tourism in Germany and has created a certification system that assesses the quality of holiday accommodation based on various criteria. Depending on the facilities and service, your accommodation will be awarded one to five stars, from simple to first-class. With the classification, you ensure significantly more trust and transparency for your guests and thus secure an important competitive advantage.

How do you have to proceed to obtain a classification?

To apply for a DTV classification, you should first be aware that your holiday home must fulfil certain criteria. Among other things, the premises and infrastructure of the property, the view, the services, the access to the building and the parking facilities are assessed as part of the certification process. In order to meet the minimum criteria for the DTV classification, it is expected, for example, that the holiday accommodation has its own entrance door, that all living rooms and bedrooms have at least one outside window and that the holiday accommodation can be sufficiently heated (at least 23° C).

For a three-star rating, a flat-screen TV and an oven or high-quality microwave, among other things, must also be available. For a 4-star rating, a dishwasher is also required, and for a five-star rating, a washing machine must also be installed. Simply scan the QR code on the next double page for the current requirements.

Depending on the location, the costs for the DTV classification amount to a maximum of 180 euros plus VAT per holiday accommodation for three years. The sum is made up of a licence fee of 60 euros plus VAT and an inspection fee of a maximum of 120 euros plus VAT per holiday accommodation.

Registration for classification

If you are confident that your holiday home fulfils the listed criteria for a DTV classification, the first step is to register on the dtv-portal.de website. Once you have registered and created a host organisation, you must then enter the details of your holiday accommodation before you can submit your request for classification.

Once your enquiry has been confirmed, the next step is to receive a concrete offer for your DTV classification. During a joint inspection appointment with a trained inspector, the individual points of the DTV's standardised checklist are then worked through directly on site: ‘A personal impression like this is of course much more important than any photos, which can easily be edited nowadays,’ says Katja Müller, Managing Director of Müller Small Living, about her experience with the classification of her privately rented holiday flat.

You will then be informed of the result of the classification. And depending on how many points were achieved during the inspection, your accommodation will receive between one and five stars (only if the holiday flat has achieved fewer than 100 points is classification via the DTV not possible). From now on, you have the option of displaying your DTV classification on booking portals or on the wall of your holiday flat. Your guests will be able to recognise the standard of your holiday home straight away and know from the outset where they are staying.

Awarded 5 stars for Katja Müller's holiday apartment

Katja Müller's flat successfully passed the classification process and was awarded five stars: ‘Of course we were very happy about that!’ she says looking back. Important points in the assessment were the newness of the house in which the holiday flat is located, the lift, an existing e-charging station, a charging facility for e-bikes and the upscale furnishings of the flat with a roof terrace, modern furniture, triple glazing, underfloor heating, high-quality electrical appliances and a washing machine and tumble dryer. The interior has also been completely refurbished, from the kettle and microwave to the crockery, glasses and towels.

‘I just want to feel good on holiday!’ says Katja Müller. ‘That's why I attach great importance to modern and as-new furnishings when booking a holiday flat!’ Details such as the crockery are crucial: ‘In many holiday flats, which are offered for four people as standard, there is only crockery for six people,’ says Katja Müller. "As a result, guests have to wash up after their first breakfast or use the dishwasher. As an alternative, we therefore offer crockery and cutlery for eight to ten people in our holiday flat. We also offer a good range of electrical appliances such as a television, kettle and coffee machine. Because nothing is worse than old, calcified appliances from which the coffee no longer tastes good. I really don't want to have to worry about that on holiday! It was therefore important to us to offer our guests a holiday flat that is modern, as good as new, bright, clean and attractively designed. And where you feel at home straight away!"