Forbes Travel Guide Expands Beyond Star Ratings With New Debut and Curated Collections
Forbes Travel Guide’s new Debut and Curated collections will spotlight upcoming openings and luxury properties beyond its existing Star-Rated portfolio.
Photo: Antonio Araujo / Unsplash
Forbes Travel Guide is expanding the way travelers and travel advisors can use its platform, adding two new discovery collections designed to highlight luxury hotels and cruises that fall outside its established Star-Rated portfolio. The new Debut and Curated collections, announced August 5, will give users access to properties before they open as well as luxury options in destinations where Forbes Travel Guide doesn’t currently conduct its independent Star Rating inspections.
The Debut collection will focus on forthcoming hotels and cruises, giving travelers and advisors an advance look at anticipated openings from major hospitality companies. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is headlining the inaugural collection with 14 hotels and resorts scheduled to open over the next 18 months.
“We are delighted to partner with Forbes Travel Guide on the launch of its Debut collection, offering an early introduction to the next chapter of Mandarin Oriental’s growth,” said Amanda Hyndman, chief operating officer of Mandarin Oriental. “As we continue to expand our portfolio in exceptional destinations around the world, this collaboration provides travelers and the global travel advisor community with an opportunity to discover the distinctive experiences, legendary service, and essence of destination that define Mandarin Oriental.”
The Curated collection, meanwhile, is intended to broaden FTG’s geographic reach. It includes luxury hotels and cruises in destinations where the organization does not currently conduct its Star Ratings, giving users additional options in places that may previously have had little or no representation within the guide.
There is an important distinction between the new collections and FTG’s familiar ratings system: Debut and Curated properties are not Forbes Travel Guide Star-Rated. According to FTG, each has instead been reviewed for alignment with its foundational luxury-hospitality criteria, and profiles in the collections are clearly identified as sponsored. That distinction preserves the existing structure of FTG’s Star Ratings, which are awarded following anonymous, in-person inspections. Businesses do not need a commercial relationship with FTG to receive a rating, and the awards cannot be purchased.
The expansion could make FTG useful earlier in the planning process for advisors, particularly when researching new openings or destinations beyond the guide’s existing inspection footprint. Properties featured in the Debut and Curated collections will also appear on MeridianV, FTG’s preferred platform used by nearly 10,000 registered luxury travel advisors.
“As luxury travelers increasingly seek trusted recommendations across every stage of their journey—from iconic, established destinations to remarkable new openings—Forbes Travel Guide’s Debut and Curated collections help them discover what’s next in luxury hospitality,” said Hermann Elger, CEO of Forbes Travel Guide.
The additions effectively create three distinct ways to encounter properties through FTG: established hotels and cruises that have earned Star Ratings through independent inspections; upcoming properties featured through Debut; and luxury options in markets outside the current ratings program through Curated.
Both new collections are now available through Forbes Travel Guide.
