Officially there is no classification for 7-star hotels and the term 7-Star Hotel has often been rather described as a marketing stunt than a hotel classification or rating, as it is not appointed by a specific institution according to openly agreed on criteria.

Officially, there is no such thing as a "7-star" hotel, as the international standard for hotel ratings (such as those from Forbes or AAA) only goes up to five stars. Hotels that are popularly referred to as "7-star" are technically Ultra-Luxury or Hyper-Luxury properties that have self-proclaimed or media-assigned ratings to highlight service that goes far beyond the standard 5-star requirements. The most famous example is the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, which earned the "7-star" moniker after a journalist felt a 5-star rating didn't do justice to its opulence, which includes chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces and 24-karat gold interiors. Other properties often placed in this unofficial category include the Town House Galleria in Milan and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. These hotels are characterized by a "1:3" staff-to-guest ratio, dedicated private butlers for every room, and extreme levels of personalization. In the travel industry, these are simply known as the pinnacle of the luxury tier, where the "stars" are more of a marketing tool than a formal classification.