A new grading system for serviced apartments is expected to be adopted in the UK later this year.
The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) has been in talks with Quality in Tourism, an assessment agency employed by the UK tourist organisation VisitBritain.
Ms Lorna Keene, chair of ASAP and head of business development for Clarendon Serviced Apartments, said: "These are not self service facilities nor hotels so it is difficult for serviced apartments to be categorised. A criterion will be difficult to find and assess.
"But it should be happening later this year although it will take longer, into 2008, for all the apartments in Britain to be assessed."
Jo Layton, a member of ASAP's executive team and sales and marketing director for BridgeStreet worldwide, said: "When dealing with corporate customers, it is hard to give a guide to the property and its facilities and to put them into the right property.
"The apartments can vary from two-star to five-star in hotel terms but at the moment there is only the price to go on."
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Texas Pacific "to raise Iberia bid"
The Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is set to increase its bid for Spanish national carrier Iberia Airlines, according to reports from Madrid and London.
The American private equity company is said to be ready to pay 4.03 a share, rather than its original 3.60 a share offer, The Times of London and El Mundo, a Madrid daily, reported.
The latter said that both management and shareholders would expect a higher bid from the Americans.
TPG is also seeking a Spanish partner for its current 3.4bn bid.
Under bi-lateral agreements between Spain and Latin American countries, Iberia would stand to lose its South American routes if the airline did not have Spanish majority owners.
Potential rival buyers, Lufthansa and BA have both currently ruled out making a bid.
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