Forbes Travel Guide: the how's and why's

 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 1950s 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 to hotels and hoteliers willing to learn.

Forbes Travel Guide: The Luxury Authority​

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 on 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 1960s-80s, 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 Training​

Still wondering how 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 for 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 hospitality professional wanting to implement luxury into their work environment.

Who Needs 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 that 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 hospitality professionals in their careers? 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.

Do you want to gain the necessary knowledge to become a complete hospitality professional? Schools like Hospitality Academy can help! Send them an email to admissions@pihospitalityacademy.com to get started. If you want to discover why you should study hospitality, check their blog.

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