Forbes Travel Guide (“FTG”), the global authority on genuine Five-Star service, and Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, announced the first hotels in the world to successfully become Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED® with Forbes Travel Guide.
Also listed at www.forbestravelguide.com/verified, they are:
- Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage (Rancho Mirage, Calif.)
- Atlantis, The Palm (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
- Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford, Calif.)
- Baccarat Hotel New York (New York)
- Boston Harbor Hotel (Boston)
- Carillon Miami Wellness Resort (Miami)
- City of Dreams – Nüwa Manila (Manila, Philippines)
- Crown Towers Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia)
- Drake Bay Getaway Resort (Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica)
- The Goring Hotel (London)
- Fairmont Grand Del Mar (San Diego)
- The Hazelton Hotel (Toronto)
- The Henderson, A Salamander Resort (Destin, Fla.)
- The Hermitage Hotel (Nashville, Tenn.)
- The Hotel at Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.)
- Hotel Bennett, Charleston (Charleston, S.C.)
- The Jefferson Hotel (Richmond, Va.)
- Katikies Mykonos – The Leading Hotels of the World (Cyclades Islands, Greece)
- Katikies Santorini – The Leading Hotels of the World (Cyclades Islands, Greece)
- Montage Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)
- The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel (Hong Kong)
- NIHI SUMBA (Sumba Island, Indonesia)
- Park Hyatt Aviara (Carlsbad, Calif.)
- The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston (Houston)
- The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands)
- Salamander Resort & Spa (Middleburg, Va.)
- Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort (San Jose del Cabo, Mexico)
- The St. Regis San Francisco (San Francisco)
- Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas (Las Vegas)
Addressing the critical need to establish confidence with guests and travel planners in the age of COVID-19 and beyond, Sharecare’s health security verification comes with an easily identifiable “seal of approval” – the Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED® with Forbes Travel Guide badge – for hotels to display on their official websites and on-property.
“Restoring guest confidence is a critical objective for the entire global hospitality industry, especially hotels and resorts,” said Filip Boyen, CEO of Forbes Travel Guide. “To their credit, hotels have invested heavily in setting up health safety procedures, but they have placed the burden of assessing their programs – and assuring individual properties are following them – onto the guest or travel advisor. This conflicts with the guiding principles of hospitality, not to mention the carefree joys of travel. By earning the VERIFIED® badge, hotels now have a credible way to broadcast that they are following comprehensive, consistent procedures to heighten health security, certified by a third party.”
Going far beyond basic facility standards and establishing a consistent global baseline for health security, Sharecare’s solution requires that hotels verify their health protocols on an ongoing basis across more than 360 expert-validated standards, including health and hygiene protocols, cleaning products and procedures, ventilation, physical distancing, the guest experience, and health safety communication with guests and employees. Additionally, participating hotels have the option to track daily employee virus screening results and provide relevant tools for guests and visitors including clinically validated health screeners and information and updates on that facility’s guidelines.
“Particularly given the unprecedented times we find ourselves in, I consider it my duty to do whatever it takes to restore confidence among not only guests but also hospitality professionals; we, after all, are nothing without the deeply dedicated people that make up our workforce,” said Sheila Johnson, founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts. “At Salamander, we take great pride in the fact that three of our destinations are now Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED® with Forbes Travel Guide. Though we must remain vigilant, this verification is proof positive that we are putting safety at the forefront today while working to ensure a secure, healthy future for anyone that may grace the halls of our properties.”
This news comes on the heels of Internova Travel Group selecting Sharecare and Forbes Travel Guide to validate the procedures and protocols at more than 50,000 hotels booked through its systems, each of which Internova expects to be Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED® with Forbes Travel Guide by the end of Q1 2022.
“While health safety is neither new nor unique to the hospitality industry, the pandemic has put the concept of health security into sharp focus; hotels must be on the leading edge to restore consumer confidence in travel,” said Hermann Elger, president of travel, hospitality, and entertainment at Sharecare. “These verified properties are taking a major step forward not only by creating a culture of accountability for the protocols they have in place, but also by providing travel buyers, corporate travel programs, and individual guests with an industry-wide common denominator identifier to alleviate the overwhelming burden of having to decipher hotel companies’ health protocols on their own.”
For more information about restoring guest confidence through Sharecare’s health security verification, please visit: www.forbestravelguide.com/health.
About Forbes Travel Guide
Forbes Travel Guide is the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas. Started as Mobil Travel Guide in 1958, the company created the first Five-Star rating system in the United States. Today, Forbes Travel Guide’s incognito inspectors travel the world, evaluating properties based on up to 900 rigorous, objective standards. Forbes Travel Guide also supports the hospitality industry and other service-oriented businesses such as luxury residential, healthcare and private clubs with bespoke training solutions, evaluation services and the creation of custom service standards. For more information, please visit partner.forbestravelguide.com.
