Forbes Travel Guide - The Most Iconic Luxury Standard Guide​

Author: Chris Robinson

The term “5 star hotel” is thrown around frequently. Many may be wondering where these stars came from, who decides this and how a hotel and its staff prepare for such a rating. The answer to all of these queries is simple: Forbes Travel Guide.

Forbes Travel Guide launched in the late 1950’s and quickly established itself as the primary authority for luxury hotels- rating all of the top hotels in the USA (and later the world) based on the company’s stringent standards on luxury. In recent years, Forbes Travel Guide has expanded its services, to not only evaluate hotels based on their luxury standard, but also to impart this standard onto hotels and hoteliers willing to learn. 

Forbes Travel Guide history

The journey began in 1958, when the initial Forbes Travel Guide was published. Initially created by the US oil company Mobil and publishing company Simon & Schuster. Under the name “Mobil Travel Guide” it served as a guide for motorists to choose lodgings during their travels. The publication operated using a simple star system (with one star being at the bottom of the scale and 5 being at the higher end) based upon the experiences of their paid, anonymous staff. These early beginnings established Forbes Travel Guide as the oldest and most well esteemed travel guide in the USA.

Through its easy-to-read and unbiased rating system, the Mobil Travel Guide quickly became a hit, and an essential item for those wanting to travel in the USA. Throughout the upcoming years of the 1960’s-80’s, the hotels covered by the guide spread across the USA, reviewing multiple establishments and becoming even more popular and trusted with its fanbase. The 5 star rating quickly became a coveted status symbol in the industry, with multiple hotels adopting more and more luxury practices in the hope of earning the top rating. In this sense, the Mobil Travel Guide was one of the founding parties of US luxury hospitality, the founding base for Forbes Travel Guide! 

Fast forward to 2008 and the Mobil Travel Guide, along with its iconic star system, makes its first venture abroad. With publications of the guide being released about Hong Kong, Beijing and Macau. Later on, in 2009, the guide would be licensed to Forbes Publishing and given its current name: Forbes Travel Guide.

In 2020, Forbes Travel Guide rated 1898 properties spanning over 73 different countries and continues to expand every year!

Forbes 5-star rating

Still wondering how do hotels prepare and maintain such luxurious standards? Well for starters, many hotels have developed their own training to adhere to the standards. However Forbes Travel Guide has recognized the need for a more comprehensive guide to fulfilling its own standard of luxury - Enter the Forbes Training.  

Forbes Travel Guide training consists of 16 interactive lessons and 43 video lessons to provide a full, holistic approach to luxury. Those who take the course learn:

• The role of each operational role in the overall guest experience 

• The different classifications of the luxury standard and why they are implemented 

• How guest experience can be enhanced in all areas of the hotel
• The essential formula to cultivating the perfect guest experience

This is just a small taste of what the course offers. In general, the philosophy of the training is to not just explain how to give a luxurious guest experience, but to inform the reasons behind it. After taking the course,  hotels will be able to both implement upstanding service and understand the philosophy behind it. This is coupled with the intense eye for detail that is required for any Hospitalian wanting to implement luxury into their work environment.

Who need this training and why?

In short: everyone in the hospitality industry. To elaborate: the training itself is not just an operational guide, but in fact the essential philosophy of luxury hospitality itself. This training is given straight from the minds who devised the international standard of luxury hospitality - the same organization who may one day be conducting the inspection. In terms of personal development for those in the hospitality industry, this course is a must have!

However, while personal development is great and all, it doesn’t pay the bills, so how can this course actually help hospitalians in their career? All hotels rated 5 stars by the Forbes Travel Guide have worked hard to achieve their coveted rating and expect their employees to follow the standard set forth by FTG. In fact, many of the very same 5 star hotels listed by Forbes Travel Guide, offer the training as a compulsory aspect of their own training program!  Therefore, if any candidate has already proven themselves to be acquainted with said standards, this is already a huge step in the right direction.

In any scenario, that a hospitality professional or student may find themselves in, Forbes training can only boost your career and for those wanting to start a career in a luxury hotel - it is an absolute must. 

Hospitality Academy is now opening their own learning platform, Hospitality Academy, and the Forbes Luxury Hospitality Diploma is one of our most prestigious lessons available! If you want to take your luxury hospitality career to the next level, simply email academy@pihospitalityacademy.com