VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality

1. Assess your property's readiness: Review the 100+ VERIFIED Responsible Hospitality standards covering waste management, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and health security to understand where your property currently stands.

1. Sign up via the Forbes Travel Guide platform: Register your hotel, resort, restaurant, or spa through the Forbes Travel Guide website. The process is entirely online — no software installation required.

1. Access the chatbot platform: Log in to the mobile-friendly chatbot interface, which guides you through the verification process step by step, confirming existing protocols and flagging gaps.

1. Complete the self-assessment across all operational areas: Work through the chatbot audit covering Front Office, Rooms, Food & Beverage, and Fitness Centre/Spa, plus supplementary guidance on community engagement, health security, and vendor selection.

1. Review your management dashboard: Use the compliance dashboard to identify areas where your property meets standards and where improvements are needed before verification is confirmed.

1. Engage optional sustainability consulting: If needed, request guidance from Forbes Travel Guide's sustainability experts — Kathleen Price (ISSP-trained) or Hervé Houdré (H2 Sustainability Consulting) — to address gaps or deepen your sustainability strategy.

1. Earn and display your VERIFIED badge: Once compliance is confirmed across the required standards, receive your VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality badge to share with guests, travel advisors, and on marketing materials.

1. Re-verify annually: Complete the chatbot-based audit each year to maintain your badge and demonstrate continued commitment to responsible operations.

The VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality program evaluates compliance with more than 100 standards organised across four primary operational areas of a hotel property, with additional guidance modules covering broader sustainability themes.

Front Office: Standards in this area address digital check-in and check-out processes, paperless operations, guest communication about the property's sustainability commitments, and responsible procurement practices at the point of guest interaction.

Rooms: Evaluated criteria include energy efficiency measures (lighting, HVAC, occupancy sensors), elimination or reduction of single-use plastics, responsible linen and towel programmes, sustainable amenity sourcing, and waste management protocols within guest rooms.

Food & Beverage: This category covers sustainable sourcing of food and beverages (local, seasonal, and responsibly produced), food waste reduction strategies, elimination of single-use plastics in dining settings, and responsible supplier/vendor selection.

Fitness Centre & Spa: Standards address energy and water efficiency in spa operations, responsible product sourcing (treatments, amenities), and wellness-oriented practices that align with broader sustainability goals.

Additional Guidance Areas: Beyond the four core operational categories, the program provides standards and guidance on community engagement initiatives (supporting local communities and suppliers), health security protocols (guest and employee wellbeing), and vendor/supply chain selection criteria. These supplementary areas reflect the program's holistic view of responsible hospitality — encompassing environmental, social, and governance dimensions relevant to luxury hotel operations.

The VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality program occupies a niche but growing segment of the sustainability certification landscape — specifically targeting the luxury end of the hospitality market. Unlike broader frameworks such as Green Key or EarthCheck, which serve hotels across all tiers, Forbes Travel Guide's program is explicitly positioned for five-star and luxury properties already within or aspiring to the Forbes Travel Guide ecosystem. This focus gives it strong brand alignment with its target audience but limits its total addressable market compared to more universal programmes.

The programme launched in 2023, making it relatively new compared to established competitors like EarthCheck (founded 1987) or Green Globe (founded 1994). Its primary differentiator is the Forbes Travel Guide brand — one of the most recognised names in luxury travel ratings globally — which lends the badge significant credibility with affluent travellers and high-end travel advisors. The partnership with Hervé Houdré, a well-known figure in sustainable luxury hospitality, further strengthens its credibility with industry insiders. However, because the verification is self-assessed via chatbot rather than independently audited by a third party, some sustainability professionals may view it as less rigorous than ISO 14001, EarthCheck, or LEED-certified alternatives.

Demand for sustainability credentials in hospitality is growing rapidly, driven by increasing traveller expectations, corporate travel policies requiring ESG compliance, and regulatory pressure in key markets (particularly Europe). The luxury segment is not immune to these pressures — high-net-worth travellers increasingly expect sustainability to be embedded in premium experiences. Forbes Travel Guide's programme is well-timed to capture this trend, though it will need to demonstrate scale and independent rigour to compete with more established third-party verified standards over the long term. Its integration with the broader Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating ecosystem is a meaningful competitive advantage for properties already in that community.

The VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality program was launched by Forbes Travel Guide in 2023, developed in collaboration with Hervé Houdré, founder of H2 Sustainability Consulting and a widely recognised pioneer of sustainable luxury hospitality. Houdré's background includes over two decades of implementing environmentally responsible and socially conscious practices at top-tier luxury hotels worldwide, and his involvement was central to establishing the programme's credibility and depth of standards.

The programme emerged in response to growing demand from luxury hotel operators and their guests for a structured, credible framework to formalise sustainability commitments — one that was specifically calibrated to the operational realities and service standards of five-star hospitality, rather than adapted from frameworks designed for mid-market or budget properties. Forbes Travel Guide, best known for its Star Rating system (the successor to the Mobil Travel Guide ratings established in 1958), leveraged its existing relationships with the world's finest hotels to create a sustainability verification that could sit alongside its Star Awards as a mark of operational excellence. The programme initially transitioned properties that had previously held Sharecare VERIFIED status, providing continuity for hotels that had already invested in health and safety verification during the COVID-19 era.