Here’s What it Really Takes to Become a Forbes Five-Star Hotel

To say the honour—being awarded five stars from the illustrious Forbes Travel Guide—is rare is an understatement. Fewer than 200 hotels worldwide (and just six in Canada) are counted among this group, and we’re lucky to have one of them right here in Vancouver. We recently chatted with Trump International Hotel Vancouver managers Philipp Posch and Kervin van den Meijdenberg about recently receiving what can very well be called the "Academy Award" of the hotel world. —Vita Daily

Hi Philipp and Kervin! Tell us about what receiving a five-star rating from Forbes means to you and to the hotel.

It really is the Oscars of the hotel world. The Forbes Star Awards have a 60-year history and, in terms of earning the top honour, which is five stars, you actually have to hit a near-perfect score on 385 separate standards in an undercover inspection, so it’s no easy feat to achieve! Most incredible, we achieved this award in a little under 10 months, which is really incredible.

With such a high bar set by Forbes, how do you go about ensuring you are running a hotel worthy of such a distinction?

You really have to set a culture in the property where you try and get everyone on board, every team member to all think alike, from the doorman to the bellman to the front desk staff—they all have to drink the same Kool-Aid, so to speak. The reality is, in a five-star hotel, there’s very little wiggle room—you can’t really have a bad day, and, when it comes to our guests, the word "no" simply does not exist.

That said, what level of service can guests expect at your newly five-star-minted hotel?

The experience hasn’t changed, the same—what we like to call "perfect"—level of service has always been there and will always be there. When you drive up to the door, the doorman will ask your name and pass that info on to the front desk and all the way down the chain, so you’ll never be asked the question again. In fact, we make it a point to reach out to each guest prior to his or her arrival—what the reason for your visit, who are you travelling with, what are you interested in doing—and using that information to personalize every guest’s visit, to create that "wow" factor.

And what are some of the special touches that make the hotel a truly incredile place to stay?

There are so many, it’s really hard to narrow it down. We have incredible king-size beds in every room, technology that can be customized in nearly 10 different languages, hardwood floors—which is truly a rarity in hotel rooms these days—floor-to-ceiling windows ands 65-inch TVs, to name just a very few. But we have to say, what really make our guests come back time and time again is our service and our staff—those personal relationships that are formed with Mike at valet and Michelle at the front desk. That’s really what makes us unique and exceptional.

Finally, how do you maintain and exceed that five-star rating?

Five stars are the maximum, we wish there were six we could shoot for but there aren’t, but our plan going forward hasn’t changed. Forbes will come twice a year to do its secret shops to ensure nothing has changed or dropped below standards, and, for our part, we will continue to look for new ways to inspire and anticipate our guests’ needs.

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