Understanding What Forbes Really Evaluates
Preparing for a Forbes Travel Guide evaluation is one of the most demanding and revealing processes a luxury hotel can go through. It is also one of the most misunderstood.
Forbes Travel Guide evaluates properties using hundreds of objective standards, organized around ten core areas. These include cleanliness and condition, courtesy and manners, efficiency, food and beverage quality, graciousness, thoughtfulness and sense of personalized service, guest comfort and convenience, sense of luxury, staff appearance, technical execution, skill and knowledge, and wellness.
Take in practical terms, these areas span every touchpoint from reservation through departure.
- Cleanliness and condition address immaculate upkeep and fully functioning physical standards.
- Courtesy and manners reflect polished, respectful interactions and professional language.
- Efficiency assesses how smoothly and timely service is delivered, minimizing friction while maintaining high standards.
- Food and beverage quality looks at freshness, presentation, taste, and overall dining standards.
- Graciousness, thoughtfulness and sense of personalized service speaks to warmth, poise, and tailoring the experience to the individual guest.
- Guest comfort and convenience examine how easy, seamless, and comfortable the overall experience feels for the guest.
- Sense of luxury involves the details that create a refined sense of place and elevate the stay beyond the ordinary.
- Staff appearance considers grooming and presentation in line with a luxury environment.
- Technical execution, skill and knowledge covers wether each service step is performed correctly, consistently, and efficiently.
- Wellness evaluates how effectively the property supports physical, mental and emotional health through amenities and the overall environment.
There are three areas that weigh more heavily: courtesy and manners, graciousness, thoughtfulness and sense of personalized service, and guest comfort and convenience. That weighting tells you everything you need to know. The emphasis here is on customer service and how you make the guest feel.
In fact, while the product accounts for 30% of the total grade, 70% is the execution of standards and how the guest experiences their stay. Inspectors pay attention to all the technical standards, but there is a big emphasis on how they feel when they interact with employees.
Do interactions feel natural?
Are needs anticipated without prompting?
Does the experience flow without friction?
What they are ultimately looking for is simple: How do you make the stay enjoyable and unforgettable?
What Luxury Properties Overlook Most
This is where many luxury properties fall short.
The most common misconception is that Forbes is about perfection in physical details alone. Cleanliness and condition are critical. There cannot be a chip in the glass or a stain on a towel. Mechanical items must function flawlessly. That is the baseline.
But what earns extra points is not just perfection; it is thoughtfulness.
It is paying attention to how the guest is using the room and responding to it. If you see a laptop, you place a lens cloth. If you see medicine on the nightstand, you place a glass and water next to it. It is noticing what the guest is doing and anticipating what will make them feel taken care of.
Many properties focus heavily on standards and checklists, but overlook emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is caring about everyone: listening and showing empathy. If you expect staff to demonstrate that with guests, you must show them how to do it in how you treat them every day, when no one is looking.
Where Execution Breaks Down
Another area that is often overlooked is the root cause of service breakdowns.
Oftentimes, the standards are understood. The issue is not knowledge, but execution under pressure. Staff take shortcuts due to shortage of supplies, shortage of help, and shortage of time. When you investigate a complaint, the root cause is often one of those constraints, not a lack of understanding.
This is specially relevant in todays environment, where staffing challenges continue to impact operations. When more work is assigned and resources are limited, quality can suffer. The solution is retention, and retention can be achieved through competitive pay, strong benefits, good working conditions, and most importantly, a culture of respect led by leadership.
People do not leave their jobs, they leave their bosses.
Training That Reinforces, Not Fatigues
Training is another area where properties miss the mark. Every company has training programs and role plays, but if training created discomfort or fear, it will not be effective. It is important to create a safe place to learn because people need to feel comfortable sharing ideas and experiences.
One of the most impactful tools is sharing real guest stories that thank staff for their service. That is where you learn what matters most to the guest, and it reinforces the behaviors that create lasting impressions.
A Better Approach to Preparing for Forbes
So, how should a property truly prepare for a Forbes evaluation?
It all starts with a cultural commitment.
Preparation should start as soon as possible, and you begin by understanding the standards, testing employees on them, and aligning your leadership team. But more importantly, you look at your culture. Do you have strong communication? Is everyone on board? Are you hiring the right people with the right personalities and passion for service?
This means hiring people who genuinely want to provide service, giving them the tools to succeed, and creating learning opportunities so they can be the best version of themselves. When those fundamentals are in place, you have a roadmap to create memorable experiences. The accolades will follow!
It Is a Full Team Effort
Everyone needs to be involved, from the steward who is washing the dishes to the laundry attendants who are folding towels. There is no department that is more important than another, because every touchpoint contributes to the guest experience.
One of the most important realities to understand is that you have to earn it every year. You can work for years to achieve a rating and lose it as quickly as one year as well. It requires pushing 100 every single day, every single month, every single year. You can never take it for granted.
Focus on the Guest, Not the Rating
The focus should never be the rating itself.
The focus should be on the guest. How are you making them feel valued? Are you exceeding their expectations? If you build a culture centered on genuine service, emotional intelligence, and attention to detail, the rating becomes a result.
In the end, preparing for a Forbes Travel Guide evaluation is about building a culture that delivers exceptional service every day, whether anyone is watching or not.
Is your property ready for Forbes recognition? Build a culture where exceptional service happens every day — not just when an inspector is watching. Connect with our industry experts to strengthen your people, culture and guest experience.
