The 66th annual Star Awards celebrate the world’s most outstanding hotels, restaurants, spas and cruises of 2024. Forbes Travel Guide's president of ratings Amanda Frasier joins 'Forbes Talks' to discuss.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis with Forbes Breaking News. Joining me now is Forbes Travel
00:07 Guide's President of Ratings, Amanda Fraser. Amanda, thanks so much for coming on.
00:12 Thank you for having me. It's a great time to be here. Thank you.
00:16 Of course. And before we get started, I want to extend a big congratulations. The 66th
00:22 Annual Star Awards officially just dropped. Before we dive into the list, can you explain
00:27 what a star award is? Yes, happy to. And thank you. Yes, 66. It's
00:32 a big year for us. You know, when we talk about our ratings and how they're earned,
00:37 it's one of the biggest questions we get. So thank you for asking, how do you know,
00:40 how does one earn a star rating? I think the most important thing is that we don't give
00:44 them away. They're not paid for. Every hotel, restaurant, spa and now cruise ship on the
00:48 list independently earns these ratings through their hard work. And essentially, the process
00:54 in a nutshell is that we will schedule an incognito evaluation. The evaluator will go
00:59 through the series of standards that we have. They're not the ones that decide the rating.
01:04 They actually don't even know the rating until today, until we've published it, published
01:09 it live on our website. But it's essentially an algorithm that determines an outcome of
01:15 a star award that is heavily weighted on service. Actually, 70% goes towards service. But the
01:20 great thing is it's a race that never ends. Every hotel, even though they're earning this
01:24 year and have done a terrific job, you get a do over, you get a chance to run the race
01:28 every year. So they're actually already working towards their 2025 awards. That's interesting
01:34 that there's such a heavy emphasis on service. What's the other criteria aside from that?
01:41 Well, there's quite a lot. You know, it's quite a significant achievement to be approved
01:46 for a rating, to be approved, to be scheduled, to get on our list. And we have quite a lot
01:51 of criteria that we determine who's eligible to earn a place in the scheduling queue, essentially.
01:57 And some things that we'll look for, of course, you know, we want to see that the facility
02:01 itself is of high quality. But we also look for things such as does the property, if it's
02:06 a hotel, offer evening service? If it's a restaurant, what does the food program look
02:10 like? And sometimes we even talk with our Forbes Travel Guide travel professionals to
02:15 find out their opinions and what they're hearing from the consumers that they sent to the hotels.
02:20 But generally nothing gets approved to get into the scheduling queue unless we think
02:25 it can achieve a minimum of our entry level award. And some of those things I just mentioned
02:30 go into determining that. Ever since we really came out of the pandemic, I think people have
02:36 really not taken travel for granted. And it seems like when we talked last year, it seemed
02:42 like travel was starting to get back into the swing of things. It seems like it's full
02:46 force now. So without further ado, can you give us a bit of an overview of the list?
02:51 Yes, thank you. The list is actually really exciting this year. I describe it as having
02:56 a lot of energy. And historically, for the first time, we are now star rating more than
03:01 2000 winners, which is a reflection of the rebound of the travel boom. We literally can't
03:08 keep up with some of the new openings catching up since the pandemic. But the list is great.
03:14 And when you look through, there's some great historic luxury brands on there making appearances
03:19 with some of the newer hotels. So the Mandarin Oriental Palace, Lucerne, is a new entry on
03:26 the list as a five star. And also the Ward of Astoria, Kuwait. But also what I love about
03:32 our list this year, particularly, is that it really reflects some of the great travel
03:36 trends that we've been watching and spotting and see evolving. So if you're, I guess, really
03:41 into high adventure trips, we managed to get finally to Nairobi this year in Kenya. Giraffe
03:47 Manor is on the list this year. And then also we got over to Rwanda. One and only have two
03:54 new five stars on the list, the Gorilla's Nest and also the Niyongwe property that they
03:59 have. So that was really exciting to finally get to complete those. And then, you know,
04:06 it was clear very early on in the year as we started the evaluations that there was
04:11 a lot of great service and performance coming out of the Middle East. So Dubai alone this
04:16 year, we ended up with 13 new hotels just out of Dubai, including obviously, I think
04:22 everyone's heard of the Atlantis, the Royal, which is just about a year open. So it's having
04:25 its one year anniversary that has earned a spot on our list as a new five star. But the
04:31 Middle East in general, even when you look at Doha with the new raffles and the four
04:35 seasons that are on the list, the Middle East has the most new five star hotels in general
04:40 as a region. So we're really excited for what we're seeing coming out of Dubai and Doha
04:46 and other countries in the Middle East.
04:48 It sounds like from what you're saying, people and vacationers are more focused on adventure
04:53 opposed to relaxation. Aside from that, what other trends are you seeing?
04:59 You know, we're actually seeing a lot of trends that lean into living well and well-being.
05:05 I mean, some of the numbers that are coming out in some of the WI reports, I can't even
05:10 keep up with because people are so focused on feeling well, not only while they're traveling,
05:16 but by the time they leave as well. So you've got brands like Seneva, for example, that
05:21 offer the chance to spend time with wellness gurus while you're staying at some of their
05:26 properties, breath work you're interested in or mindfulness. If it's something that
05:31 you do all the time and want to continue that or I guess whether you want to explore it.
05:36 These are things that some of these great brands are offering. Even a brand like Montage,
05:40 which is one of our only all five star hotel companies this year, which is really exciting.
05:47 Their particular locations, they really, really do a great job with their destination-centric
05:52 outdoor space. So you can really find something to do that is specific to that area you're
05:57 working in, that you're staying in, whether it's a mountain side destination or right
06:02 there on the beach at Laguna.
06:05 You talked a little bit about some international destinations, specifically in the Middle East,
06:10 but let's turn domestically. What are some places that you want to highlight that are
06:15 in the United States that are featured as Star Award recipients?
06:20 We had a great time going throughout the United States this year with our evaluations. And
06:25 one of the things that came up quite early on and something that we've been watching
06:30 and have known for a while is that there's a lot more interest in some of the secondary
06:34 cities that we have here in the United States. So this year you're going to see four new
06:39 award winners out of Nashville, which is obviously if you haven't been to Nashville, it's a must
06:43 see on your list. It's just up the road from where I am. And one hotel has a new star rated
06:50 property there, Conrad, JW Marriott, and The Hermitage makes a re-entry onto the list as
06:54 well this year after a recent renovation. But also, South Carolina has a new property,
07:00 the Charleston Place. And not to forget New Orleans, actually the South made a really
07:06 good showing on the list this year. And even Arkansas have a new hotel, a new star rated
07:11 hotel, the Oakmont. So we're really excited for what we're seeing happening in some of
07:15 these lesser thought of destinations when it comes to where to travel around the United
07:19 States, particularly for international travelers coming here.
07:22 Can you talk about that a little bit? Can you describe and define what a secondary city
07:27 is?
07:28 I mean, a secondary city is going to be somewhere that has easy access to an airport, like a
07:33 major airport. I mean, obviously take, for example, Nashville, like I just mentioned,
07:37 is driving distance from Atlanta. It has obviously its own airport, but it is a destination where
07:43 you can, as a traveler, get away from a typical capital city. So, you know, if you're thinking
07:49 of going to the UK, but you kind of want to avoid London, then consider going further
07:53 north, maybe to York or into kind of obviously the north part of England, certainly into
07:59 Scotland, which has another new five star hotel with a Trump Turnberry. So there's a
08:03 lot happening in destinations outside of some of the more typical cities that you think
08:08 of when you think about countries. So London, Paris, Milan, whatever it might be.
08:13 When you're thinking about going on vacation, where you should travel, if you can travel,
08:18 a big factor, obviously, are the dollar signs that come with that, the price tag that comes
08:23 with going on vacation. How expensive are these destinations? Is there a big price range?
08:30 Are they all very expensive? What does that look like?
08:34 It can be. I think it's all relative. Right now, the average stay at a property on our
08:39 list is hovering right around $650 a night, which is obviously up from a few years ago.
08:44 We're not really seeing too much softening of the rates. But you can still get great
08:48 hotel deals. I mean, it depends, obviously, if you're willing to be flexible. In Las Vegas,
08:52 you can still get a great hotel on the Strip, a star rated hotel, probably for under $500
08:57 a night if you are, as I said, flexible with when you stay.
09:01 But then you take an example of an all-inclusive luxury destination like a villa in the Maldives,
09:07 you can pay thousands a night. But it's all relative because it depends what's included.
09:13 All-inclusive is becoming an increasingly popular requirement when people travel because
09:18 I think they need to have less friction when you travel and they want to have an easier
09:23 time and not have to think about anything. I think that's what's driving the demand for
09:26 more inclusive rates. And naturally, those are going to be higher.
09:31 I do now want to pivot a bit to business travel. We're four years out from the start of the
09:37 pandemic. So I am wondering, are you seeing business travel recover?
09:41 Definitely, yes. Actually, I just had some calls as early as on this week. I think from
09:47 business, there's a couple of things. Number one, they're seeing a lot more long-term booking
09:51 secured out there. So I know a couple of major conference facilities, conference-related
09:57 hotels are seeing bookings all the way out to 2028. So I think that just tells you, you
10:02 really have to, as a convention planner or somebody wanting to host a big meeting, you
10:06 really need to kind of have your plan together. And then also what we're seeing kind of related
10:11 to that business travel is that individuals are planning personal travel to kind of bookend
10:17 that experience a lot more. It's not such a new trend. I think people have always mixed
10:21 business and pleasure, but we're seeing a lot more now.
10:25 That's really strategic there. And aside from bookending your business and personal trips,
10:32 how are people traveling? Are they doing more solo travel? Are they going with groups, with
10:37 families? What does that look like?
10:39 You know, it's a real mix. And I think like we talked about at the top of the call with
10:43 the pandemic, the pandemic made people a lot more comfortable with being by themselves
10:48 or certainly doing things solo that they might have ordinarily done as a family or as a couple.
10:54 So we are seeing more solo travel. Giraffe Manor, interestingly, is a great spot for
11:01 solo travel if you're kind of either ending or starting a safari and trying to get that
11:05 big bucket list trip ticked off your list. But wellness travel as well, especially. I
11:11 mean, we've just touched on the strength of the well-being trend, and it's not even a
11:15 trend now. It's just a lifestyle. It's beyond a trend. But that is obviously a really great
11:21 option for traveling solo. And brands and hotels and even cruise ships now are really
11:28 providing a really great option for solo travel, not just the ability to book a cabin or a
11:33 room as a single traveler, but itineraries and people that will care for you and understand
11:38 your individual needs as a solo traveler. So it's a lot more to it than just booking
11:42 a single room.
11:44 And when you're seeing different travel trends, do they really vary and differ based on generation?
11:50 Are millennials traveling different than Gen Z, than boomers?
11:55 You know, I think so. We definitely see that. And in speaking to experts in that space that
12:00 monitor that sort of data, we see that as we travel as well. I think you're still going
12:05 to see the boomer generation spend on traditional luxury travel. But I think an interesting
12:11 point that we discuss a lot lately is that we now know that the younger generation, the
12:15 Gen Z generation, who I think the upper end of that is like 26 years old, so they're just
12:20 coming into the workforce, they spend a lot of money on travel. A large percentage of
12:26 their income is spent on travel. And actually, they're influencing their parents' decisions
12:31 and their grandparents' decisions of when they're doing family travel, where they should
12:35 go and where they should spend their time.
12:39 And when you're looking at this list, the 2024 Star Awards, how do they differ than
12:44 the Star Awards lists in the past?
12:49 You know, I think I mentioned this. The list has a lot more energy. The pandemic years,
12:53 of course, were really subdued, understandably, and it was all just about kind of holding
12:57 on and getting through. In 2023, last year, everything obviously really came back to life.
13:03 We had a great launch with our cruise ship star ratings. But 2024 has just so much more
13:09 dynamic options on the list now because we were able to get to those destinations that
13:13 reflect some of that well-being emphasis that I mentioned and the high adventure. And above
13:19 all, just everyone's really looking for authentic travel experiences. And the hotels, restaurants
13:25 and spas on our list are doing such a great job really delivering on that. And I think
13:29 you'll see some new additions. There's more than 200 new star ratings on the list this
13:34 year. And there's brands as well that are coming onto our list that we haven't actually
13:40 been able to get to before. So the Address brand and the Lux brand are making great appearances
13:46 on the list with several really wonderful properties that are really great to kind of
13:51 put on the list and try when you can. I really like your optimistic tone here. It definitely
13:56 sounds like a good time to travel. Amanda Fraser, thank you so much for joining me and
14:01 congrats again. Thank you. Thank you, Brittany.
14:03 Thank you.
14:04 Thank you.
14:04 [END]