For travel agencies, being named to one of the lists put out by venerable consumer travel publications -- Conde Nast's Top Travel Specialists, Travel + Leisure's A-List and Wendy Perrin's Wow List -- is considered an important industry distinction.
Starting in 2023, travel advisors could aim for the newest of these designations, from one of the oldest and most well-known names in travel: Forbes Travel Guide (FTG).
Forbes awards the Endorsed by Forbes Travel Guide badge to agencies only by invitation, based on two components: The agency must demonstrate leadership in the industry and excellent customer service and must complete a training course about FTG Star Ratings.
"Our endorsement means the agency demonstrates a strong commitment to client service and that its network of advisors is well versed in the integrity of FTG's ratings and the use of the ratings to make informed choices for their clients," said Richard Lebowitz, senior vice president of travel industry outreach at FTG.
Advisors who make these lists say they benefit from the clout those brands have with consumers.
"It's such an incredible alignment of, and recognition for, luxury travel agencies overall," said Kathy Johns, senior director of sales at McCabe World Travel in McLean, Va., one of the agencies endorsed by Forbes. "It just has all these wins."
Kerry Dyer, chief development officer at Brownell in Birmingham, Ala., which is also on the list, agreed: "Forbes has credibility."
FTG benefits, as well, as the program encourages advisors to use its Star Ratings for hotels, restaurants, spas and cruise ships and to consider the ratings "a reliable third-party verification system that supports travel advisors in their selection of hotels for their discerning clients," Lebowitz said.
FTG now focuses on the luxury segment and its annual Star Ratings -- 2024 selections will be announced Feb. 7 -- but it started in 1958 as the Mobil Travel Guide.
The guidebooks, which were $1 each, were designed "to encourage drivers to explore America's growing interstate highway system -- and to buy more gas, of course," Lebowitz said, citing the tie-in with Mobil, which published the guides with Simon & Schuster.
The guide evolved to FTG in 2009, under a licensing agreement with Forbes Media to use its name (it is not a subsidiary of Forbes). In 2011, FTG's last printed guidebooks were published.
Avenue Two Travel in Bryn Mawr, Pa., was the first endorsed agency. Forty others followed, and new agencies, Lebowitz said, are being "constantly evaluated."
The agencies and travel advisors on the list say the endorsement is a useful marketing tool.
"The Forbes name is fairly synonymous with travel," said Jeremy Gurvitch, an affiliate of McCabe. "Being Forbes-endorsed as a leader in the industry helps foster additional trust from our clients. It certainly has a halo effect. It can serve to reconfirm we're the right advisor to represent them in travel."
Gurvitch said one aspect of the program that is particularly useful is a portal for advisors that enables them to connect directly with Forbes-rated hotels if their clients are staying there. He said it ensures clients will be recognized and get an elevated experience.
Johns, from McCabe World Travel, called the recognition "truly an honor," because like FTG's Star Ratings, the endorsement is merit-based and decided by an independent entity.
McCabe highlights its endorsement on its website, on LinkedIn and in email signatures.
"Forbes is this globally trusted brand," Johns said. "And McCabe World Travel is also a trusted brand but to a much smaller audience, so this elevates our brand."
Brownell also highlights the FTG endorsement in marketing materials. While its independent contractors do not have to use it, Dyer said, the most engaged advisors do.
"It's broadening what we do to end-user consumers," Dyer said, adding that Brownell has long been trying to communicate that its members are true advisors in the high-end luxury market. Recognition from a brand like Forbes, she said, "just elevates all of us."