Hotel services in Bulgaria can be provided only in categorized accommodation place such as hotels, guest houses and villas. According to Bulgarian law, only a legal entity has the right to provide hotel services. You can read a little more about this type of service in Bulgaria and the legal procedures for categorization of accommodation. The author of this article does not claim to be exhaustive on the subject. If you need legal assistance in categorizing your hotel, guest house or villa, you can contact us to investigate the case.
1. Who has the right to provide hotel services?
Hotel services in Bulgaria are regulated by the Tourism Act and according to the law they can be provided only by registered company (ET, EOOD, OOD, EAD, AD, etc.). The company must also have staff with the necessary education and language skills, and management experience is required for management staff. The property for categorization may be your own, rented or used on other legal grounds.
Interesting facts!
1. You can offer hotel accommodation without having a registered company in one of the following places:
- guest room,
- guest apartment and
- guest house,
including when they are a part of your home. In these cases the accommodation place shall be only registered, not categorized.
2. When you offer hotel services online, including through an electronic platform that connects users and the service provider (e.g. Airbnb), this may only happen in categorized or registered accommodation places. For these accommodation, it is mandatory to be able to pay electronically through the electronic platform.
2. What are the categories of stars?
It is a well-known fact that accommodation places are categorized into the following categories: “one star“, “two stars“, “three stars“, “four stars” or “five stars“. The category of the place is determined on the basis of its compliance with the minimum mandatory requirements for construction, furniture and equipment, services offered, education and professional qualifications, language skills and experience in tourism of the manager and the staff. The requirements for categorization are determined by the law in details. For example, a single room in a one-star hotel should have an area of 11 sq.m., in a three-star hotel – 12 sq.m., in a four-star hotel – 14.9 sq.m., and in hotel “five stars” – 16 sq.m. Also, if you have a hotel, it can be 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars, the villa – 3, 4 or 5 stars, and the guest house only 1, 2 or 3 stars.
3. What is the categorization procedure?
Once you have an accommodation place, you have to submit a categorization application to the Minister of Tourism or to the Major of the municipality where the place is located. The applicant has to provide also documents for the use of the property, when it is not owned by the applicant, and a reference about the professional qualification and language skills of the staff. The submitted application is considered within 14 days. Upon approval of the submitted documents, the procedure for categorization of the accommodation place is opened and a temporary certificate is issued for a period of 3 or 4 months. Within the period of the temporary certificate, an expert working group of at least three people will carry out an inspection at the accommodation for its compliance with the legal requirements. The procedure ends with categorization of the property. The issued certificate for the specified category has a term of 5 years. Category symbols are also issued, which include a certificate and a plate. Information about the categorized accommodation can be found in Bulgarian National Tourist Register.
4. What are the state fees?
The state fees for reviewing the categorization documents are determined by a Tariff and only some of them are listed below:
- for categorization of class A accommodation place – hotels, motels, apartment tourist complexes, holiday villages, tourist settlements and villas:
- up to 30 rooms – BGN 500;
- from 31 to 150 rooms – BGN 1,200;
- from 151 to 300 rooms – BGN 1,900;
- from 301 to 500 rooms – BGN 2,800;
- over 500 rooms – BGN 5,000;
2. for categorization of Class B accommodation place – family hotels, hostels, boarding houses and holiday resorts:
- up to 20 rooms – BGN 200;
- from 21 to 40 rooms – BGN 400;
- from 41 to 60 rooms – BGN 940;
- from 61 to 100 rooms – BGN 2,000;
- over 100 rooms – BGN 4,000;
3. for categorization of Class C accommodation place – guest rooms, guest apartments, guest houses, bungalows and campsites:
- for one bed – BGN 10 per bed;
- for a parking space for a car / caravan / camper in a campsite – BGN 10 per piece;
- for a place in a tent in a campsite – BGN 10 each.
If you need help in categorization of your accommodation – hotel, guest house, villa or other, you can contact us for assistance.
