Forbes Travel Guide Expands Its Five Star Rating System Into The Caribbean And Mexico

NEW YORK, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Travel Guide—the originator of the Five-Star hospitality rating system and formerly Mobil Travel Guide—announced that it will begin rating properties in the Caribbean and Mexico. It will unveil the region's first group of five star properties in 2015, and will expand further in Latin America in coming months. The company also named Lourdes Hainlin Vice President, Client Services, to drive its growth in the region. Hainlin reports to Peter Kressaty, Forbes Travel Guide's Senior Vice President, Client Services.

"We are proud to announce this important step in Forbes Travel Guide's world growth, as it continues to set the global standard for luxury hospitality," said Kressaty.

The company announced its entry into the United Kingdom market in 2013. This comes on top of the more than 150 markets in which the company currently rates hotels, restaurants and spas in the United States, Canada, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.

Kressaty concluded, "With a new foothold in Mexico and the Caribbean, we look forward to announcing our continued expansion in Latin America in the coming months. We are proud to welcome Lourdes Hainlin, a talented and experienced hotel development professional, to the Forbes Travel Guide team to lead our regional growth effort."

Hainlin comes to Forbes Travel Guide with more than twenty years of sales & marketing experience in various leadership roles in the hospitality industry, including with Denihan Hospitality Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and the Westin brand.

In the latter part of her fourteen-year tenure with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, she successfully launched the Starwood Resort Collection, Caribbean and South Florida.  Most recently, she oversaw the expansion of The James brand in Miami and the launch of The James Royal Palm Miami-South Beach, after a $50 Million renovation and reflag of this historic property.   Hainlin is bilingual in English and Spanish, with a working knowledge of Portuguese.   She is based in Miami and can be reached at [email protected]. 

George Sotelo, General Manager of the Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotel in Dorado Puerto Rico, welcomed the expansion, calling it, "an important recognition of the growth of the luxury hotel segment in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean." He concluded, "We welcome Forbes Travel Guide to Puerto Rico and the region, a move which will provide benefits to regional hotels and consumers alike."

About Forbes Travel Guide

Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, is the originator of the prestigious Five Star Rating system, and has provided the travel industry's most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas since 1958. Forbes Travel Guide has a team of expert inspectors who anonymously evaluate properties against up to 800 rigorous and objective standards, providing consumers the insight to make better-informed travel and leisure decisions. Forbes Travel Guide is the gold standard for luxury hospitality ratings worldwide. For more information about Forbes Travel Guide, visit www.forbestravelguide.com.

ForbesTravelGuide.com combines the objectivity and heritage of the Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating system with insightful recommendations from a hand-selected group of travel experts, tastemakers and Forbes Travel Guide inspectors. ForbesTravelGuide.com is the exclusive online destination for Forbes Travel Guide's list of Star Rated hotels, restaurants and spas, and gives its registered members exclusive access to special offers and curated experiences from select Forbes Travel Guide partners.

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SOURCE Forbes Travel Guide