Forbes Travel Guide

Founded by Mobil and Simon & Schuster in 1958, Forbes Travel Guide is the oldest travel guide in the United States. Ratings are given by anonymous, paid staff members in stars (five-star, four-star or recommended ratings), based on objective criteria. A Forbes Travel Guide five-star rating is a considerable honor, with only 323 hotels, 102 spas and 74 restaurants receiving the top honor in 2022. The ratings serve as a certification mark, in that Mobil had registered trademarks for the phrases and designs indicating each star rating level, and allowed only rated establishments to display them.

Initially, guides were regional and limited to the United States and Canada. The first, issued in 1958, covered five states in the Southwest and South Central United States. In 1960, this guide was revised and volumes covering the Northeastern States, the Great Lakes, and California and the West were introduced. Guides covering the Middle Atlantic States and the Northwestern states were introduced in 1962. In 1965, a guide for the Southeastern States was introduced, although only one state covered by this volume, Tennessee, had any Mobil service stations.

Five-star restaurants in the United States:

Later, the number of volumes was expanded, as regions covered by the guide shrank. For instance, California was covered by two volumes, one for the north and one for the south. City guides also followed.

By 1975 Rand McNally began publishing the Mobil Travel Guides. In 1988, Simon & Schuster's Prentice Hall division acquired the travel books division of Rand McNally. Fodor's, a division of Random House, began publishing the guides in 1995. In 2001, Mobil Travel Guide was spun off as a separate company, with ExxonMobil and publisher Publications International as an investor.

In 2008, Forbes Travel Guide launched the international star ratings program for hotels and spas with the release of the inaugural Forbes Travel Guide Beijing and Forbes Travel Guide Hong Kong and Macau. Published in print by ExxonMobil Travel Publications, until 2011, the guide was published online by HowStuffWorks.com.

In October 2009, ExxonMobil licensed the brand to the Five Star Ratings Corporation, which is owned by internet entrepreneur and WebMD founder Jeff Arnold. Five Star Travel Corporation entered into a licensing agreement with Forbes Media, and renamed the Star Awards and guidebook series, Forbes Travel Guide. Forbes Travel Guide's new online home, ForbesTravelGuide.com, was launched in 2011, which marked the last year of publication of the traditional printed guidebook series.

In 2019, Forbes Travel Guide formed an exclusive partnership with Jet Linx Aviation, becoming the guide's first partner in the private aviation industry.