The grading system is a controversial topic for those striving to provide sustainable tourist accommodation, here a successful, green B&B owner has their say!

'If you are an accommodation provider and you take the environment seriously you can come up against a difficulty when the Visit Wales assessor calls. Obviously if you have made your accommodation attractive and feel you offer a good all round package to your guests you want your grading to reflect that standard.'

'The grading 'common standards' clearly state that energy efficient lighting should be accepted and not be penalised but it seems that some assessors haven't read their own guidelines. In recent months more than one of our local providers have been marked down for their lighting and told that energy efficient bulbs are not "as good". We personally lost points for not having floodlighting on at all times at the front of the house despite having solar powered movement sensing lamps ("not bright enough")! Modern energy efficient bulbs are just as bright as old fashioned power eating bulbs and really, who in these enlightened times would want to see floodlighting eating up fuel and causing light pollution in our fantastic countryside?'

'The other bugbear is toiletries. No matter how sparkling clean and high quality your toiletries are, woe betide you when the assessor calls, if they are not in tiny wasteful little individual bottles. This will produce wrinkling of noses and reduction of marks. Why? Do they not understand that our guests, with a little encouragement, want us to follow environmentally sustainable practices? When you use individual bottles a high proportion are taken away by guests who then leave them wasting at the back of a shelf, gathering dust. When you use clean large bottles with dispensing valves guests only use what they need to use. Less waste, fewer lorries carrying fewer products, less packaging to go to landfill and less clutter too.'

'There are other niggling facets to assessors visits too such as wanting everything to be 'new' and not appreciating that reusing preloved items is not only good for the environment but actually makes your guests feel that they can be comfortable in their accommodation.'

'It's time for all assessors to wake up to the reality of our world as it is now and stop penalising those of us who are environmentally responsible but still give guests a high quality experience.'