Hosts’ corner · Star rating
4 or 5-star classification: the edge for high-end holiday rentals
Verified quality, visibility and differentiation: what an official 4 or 5-star classification brings to a high-end holiday rental in France, and how to obtain it.
France’s official classification of furnished holiday rentals (meublés de tourisme), from one to five stars, is the only state-recognised comfort benchmark for holiday rentals. At the end of 2025, of the 231,700 classified rentals in France, 9% had four stars and only 2% had five. For a high-end property, it is a quality guarantee checked by an independent body, a mark of distinction among listings that all call themselves “luxury”, and extra visibility with tourist offices. The inspection takes about an hour and the classification lasts five years.
Everyone claims to be high-end
On the platforms, “luxury”, “prestige” and “upscale” cost nothing to write. Travellers have no way of checking them before they arrive. Reviews help, but they tell you whether guests were happy, not what the property really offers.
A verified quality guarantee
Stars, on the other hand, are not written: they are earned. An inspector from an accredited body visits the property and scores it against a national grid: equipment and comfort, guest services, accessibility and sustainability. Travellers know what they will find, and you can prove it.
An exclusive club
At the end of 2025, 231,700 furnished holiday rentals were classified in France. Three quarters had two or three stars. Only 21,640 had four (9%) and 3,580 five (2%). Displaying four or five stars puts you among roughly one classified rental in nine. And on the scale of the platforms, it is rarer still: France has an average of 1.3 million active holiday rental listings each month, 71% of them on Airbnb. Against that, barely 25,000 rentals are rated four or five stars.
What separates three stars from five
Whatever the category, at least 95% of the mandatory criteria must be met. The difference lies in the “optional” criteria: 30% of the points for four stars, 40% for five. These are what set a beautiful house apart from an exceptional property: services, comfort and leisure equipment, quality of the fittings.
More visibility
Tourist offices and official websites highlight classified rentals. Your stars can be shown in your listings, on your website and in your materials. And the language of stars speaks to everyone, including international travellers used to hotel ratings.
Aiming for four or five stars in practice
- Take stock with the self-assessment tool offered by many departmental tourism agencies.
- Choose an accredited inspection body and state the category you are aiming for.
- Host the inspection, about an hour long, with the property as it is rented. Expect around €150 to €200 (€180 in the Aude department, for example).
- Receive the proposed classification. If it does not suit you, you have fifteen days to refuse it; otherwise it is valid for five years.
Classification also has tax implications and affects the tourist tax. That is not the subject here: your accountant will tell you what it changes for you.
What Gemlidays does about it
A four or five-star classification is one of the two ways into the network, the other being our GemSign check. It is shown on each gem’s page, next to the floor area and the number of guests. But our selection goes beyond stars: consistent reviews and the host’s attention matter just as much. Star classification at Gemlidays →