For guests
What can you request at a hotel? Services by star category
Forgot your toothbrush? Need fresh towels, another pillow or a bathrobe? Hotels may offer far more than guests ever discover during their stay.
You arrive at a hotel, realise you forgot your toothbrush and buy one on the way to dinner. Yet you may simply have been able to ask the hotel.
Hotels often provide far more services than guests actually use. Not because guests do not need them, but because they often do not know they can ask for them.
We therefore looked at the Hotelstars Union 2025–2030 classification criteria and prepared a practical overview, focusing mainly on services marked as mandatory criteria, “M”, for each category.
Quick overview: what you may expect by category
| Category | Examples of services and requests |
|---|---|
| 1★ | towel replacement, basic hygiene essentials, a baby cot, adapters or charging on request, and 24-hour telephone or digital assistance |
| 2★ | everything above, plus for example a sewing kit on request |
| 3★ | luggage assistance on request, secure luggage storage, laundry and ironing, an umbrella, an extra duvet or pillow, wake-up service and drinks in the room |
| 4★ | additional bed-linen changes, a pillow menu, bathrobe and slippers on request, secure printing and a 12-hour food room-service offer |
| 5★ | 24-hour reception, concierge, valet parking, full luggage assistance, turndown service, express ironing, hotel transport and 24-hour food and drink room service |
⭐ 1-star hotel
Even in the entry category, you may expect more than you think. Mandatory criteria include towel replacement on request and basic hygiene essentials.
On request, the hotel should provide at least a toothbrush, toothpaste, a shaving kit and bath or shower gel. A baby cot and various adapters or charging options should also be available on request.
Across all categories, there is also a requirement for the guest to be able to contact the hotel digitally or by telephone 24 hours a day.
⭐⭐ 2-star hotel
A few additional practical details are added to the basic services. A typical example is a sewing kit on request.
The services from the previous category still apply, including towel replacement, basic hygiene essentials and a baby cot.
⭐⭐⭐ 3-star hotel
The service offer becomes noticeably broader. Guests may expect luggage assistance on request and secure luggage storage.
Laundry and ironing services, an umbrella, an extra duvet and an additional usable pillow, wake-up service, drinks in the room and a hairdryer are also included among the relevant criteria.
So if the hotel pillow does not suit you or you are cold at night, you do not necessarily have to wait until morning. Ask.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4-star hotel
At four stars, the service standard is already broad. It includes, for example, an additional bed-linen change on request, laundry and ironing services, and shoe-care equipment.
Sleep is another interesting area: a pillow menu appears here, offering a choice of different pillow types. Other services include a bathrobe and slippers on request and private, secure printing of documents.
For food, a mandatory criterion is a 12-hour room-service food offer. For drinks, the standard can be met in different ways, such as a minibar, maxibar or room service.
We cover the 4★ standard in more detail in What does a 4-star hotel have to offer?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5-star hotel
Five stars are not only about a higher-quality room. Much of the difference lies in the breadth and availability of service.
Reception should be staffed 24 hours a day. Mandatory criteria also include valet parking, concierge and full luggage assistance.
Other examples include ironing returned within one hour, tailoring, shoe-cleaning service, hotel transport, a personalised welcome and evening turndown service.
Room service also changes significantly. For this category, Hotelstars lists food and drinks via room service 24 hours a day, including breakfast through room service.
We cover the 5★ standard in more detail in What does a 5-star hotel have to offer?
The biggest problem may not be a lack of services
One thing stands out when reading hotel standards: hotels already offer a huge number of services. Guests often simply do not know they exist.
Information may be scattered across the hotel website, booking confirmation, in-room materials, television system, telephone or Guest Directory. A guest may therefore never request something the hotel could easily provide.
What if every hotel service were in one place?
Imagine scanning a QR code in your room and immediately seeing the services that the specific hotel actually offers:
Towels · Cleaning · Hygiene essentials · Pillows · Bathrobe · Laundry · Room service · Late check-out · Other hotel services
You choose a request, send it and the hotel team takes care of the rest. No searching for the reception number, no app installation and no guessing whether the service exists.
Source
This article is based on the Hotelstars Union — Classification Criteria 2025–2030. The current catalogue and information materials are available from the official Hotelstars website.
Hotelstars Union — guest information materials
Offering a service is not enough. Read why guests often fail to use services a hotel already provides.