National Quality Assurance Scheme (NQAS)

All the national assessing bodies (VisitEngland, Visit Scotland, Visit Wales and the AA) now assess hotels and guest accommodation (including B&Bs) to the same criteria and award 1 to 5 stars. The star ratings reflect the overall quality of the experience. In Lancashire the following assistance is offered:

• Free advisory visit by a Quality in Tourism (QIT) Quality Advisor to offer advice about the NQAS ratings scheme and your own accommodation business.
• Grants of up to 50% less VAT are available towards the one-off joining fee and the cost of the first year of participating in the national ratings scheme in which accommodation is assessed i.e. AA, VisitEngland/QiT.

To benefit from this assistance, follow this 3 stage process:

• Stage 1: Apply to LCDL for a free advisory visit. Lancashire Advisory Visit Application Form
• Stage 2: When the advisory visit has taken place, apply to LCDL for a Lancashire grant, Lancashire Grant Application Form
• Stage 3: When you have received confirmation that you will be receiving a Lancashire grant, complete and send the QiT application form and your payment to QiT, click here to get application form.

Alternatively, you can join the AA scheme here

You can receive your accreditation sooner if you omit Stage 1 and enter the process at Stage 2.

For Blackpool accommodation only, advisory visit and grant forms will need to be sent to Blackpool Council before they are sent to LCDL. In Blackpool advisory visits are restricted to those establishments which are at or near the national standards. Blackpool Advisory Visit Application Form

Blackpool Grant Application Form

For further information about the Quality in Tourism scheme click here