After this year’s inaugural Verified Air Travel Awards, Forbes Travel Guide continues to innovate by unveiling four new awards at this week’s Summit in Monaco: The Edge List by RIMOWA for luxury adventure travel, the Best Luxury Retail Collaboration, the Best Luxury Experience Collaboration and the Ownership Group of the Year. These honors are testaments to Forbes Travel Guide’s commitment to recognizing excellence in all areas of the refined travel sector.

The new accolades join a long-standing tradition at Forbes Travel Guide of acknowledging hotel staff members and travel professionals who consistently demonstrate exceptional service.

The Edge List by RIMOWA: Le Commandant Charcot and NIHI Sumba

NIHI Sumba and Ponant luxury cruise line’s Le Commandant Charcot exemplify the new frontier of luxury travel and unforgettable adventure. Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s only luxury icebreaker, allows passengers to explore the highest latitudes of the Arctic and the Antarctic in the utmost comfort with a culinary program curated by legendary French chef Alain Ducasse (more on him below), butler service and a nearly 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio.

At NIHI Sumba, guests receive a uniquely immersive experience on a remote, unspoiled Indonesian island surrounded by a 567-acre jungle with abundant activities such as swimming with Sumba horses, diving in mountain waterfalls and surfing some of Asia’s most famous waves.

In addition to naming these two winners, Forbes Travel Guide CEO Hermann Elger also announced at The Summit that the release of the first Edge List, a tally of 50 global properties offering high-octane excitement with a high-end feel, will come later in 2025.

Best Luxury Retail Collaboration: Ritz Paris and FRAME

FRAME, the Los Angeles-based retailer with a distinctive European feel, partnered with the iconic Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Ritz Paris to create four collections of heritage sportswear branded with the Paris hotel’s famed crest. This creative coupling has been an incredible success, even stamped with the seal of approval from celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, who’s been spotted sporting the line’s bright blue baseball cap.

Best Luxury Experience Collaboration: Atlantis The Royal and Louis Vuitton

The Five-Star Dubai hotel enlisted Louis Vuitton to celebrate its first anniversary in style. The luxury brand created a series of six 10-foot-tall statues of its mascot, Vivienne, that were placed throughout the property. Guests encountered a visor-donning “Lifeguard Vivienne” that was overseeing the pool, a “Roller Vivienne” taking pictures in the lobby with a Louis Vuitton-branded camera and a “Jetsetter Vivienne,” sporting Pharrell Williams x Louis Vuitton sunglasses in a whimsical display.

Along with the awards, Elger also introduced BOND CO.LAB, a new FTG agency that facilitates partnerships between luxury hospitality brands and ultra-luxury consumer brands.

“We founded BOND CO.LAB to help craft and launch the kinds of impactful collaborations we celebrate today,” Elger said. “These partnerships engage guests in creative ways, elevating both brands in the eyes of discerning guests.”

Ownership Group of the Year: Dart

Dart, a global investment and development organization, received the inaugural Ownership Group of the Year award for its ongoing commitment to excellence over the Cayman Islands-based real estate group’s 20-year history.

The company’s portfolio includes the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla; The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa in Grand Cayman; and the new Evermore Orlando Resort, which features Conrad Orlando. An emphasis on landscape, open environments and sustainability connects the company’s impressive portfolio.

“Our organization’s story has been very quiet and very humble,” Dart president Chris Kelsey told Forbes Travel Guide at The Summit. “But now that we’ve amassed this larger collection, it makes sense for the world to understand who Dart is and see the overall quality of what we do.”

Award of Excellence by Baccarat: Chef Alain Ducasse

Alain Ducasse, who has wowed in kitchens since the 1980s, is the winner of this year’s Award of Excellence by Baccarat. This esteemed award honors the Monegasque chef’s culinary achievements over an illustrious career. Ducasse’s immense contributions to the culinary world were witnessed at The Summit’s headlining gala dinner, where some of the epicurean world’s biggest names, like Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud, praised Ducasse’s skills and mentoring via pre-recorded video statements. Some of Ducasse’s other protégées-turned-culinary-stars, including Yannick Alléno, Cedric Grolet and Marcel Ravin, joined him at the gala celebration at the Salle des Étoiles.

Ducasse has opened more than three dozen acclaimed restaurants, including Monaco’s prestigious Le Louis XV in the Five-Star Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse in Paris, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in London and the Five-Star Alain Ducasse at Morpheus in Macau.

Previous award winners include Roger Dow, the former president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the former CEO of Celebrity Cruises.

Travel Professional of the Year: James Turner of 360 Private Travel

James Turner’s remarkable success as the founder and CEO of 360 Private Travel, a global community of luxury travel specialists, earns him the title of Travel Professional of the Year.

Drawing on his 30 years of experience in the global travel and airline sectors, Turner established his company in 2012, translating his passion for a client-centric approach into an innovative operation that provides technological, financial and marketing platforms to support his team across the globe.

Employee of the Year Award by Château Angelus: Rashareena Ramli, Senior Raffles Butler, Raffles Hotel Singapore

Rashareena Ramli’s dedication to going above and beyond for the guests at Five-Star Raffles Hotel Singapore has earned her the honor of being named Employee of the Year by Château Angelus.

Thoughtful gestures embody the ideals of her exemplary hospitality. In one of many examples, Ramli found an elephant figurine that a guest treasured from her childhood stay at the hotel in the ’70s. When the returning guest was at dinner, she placed the figurine in the guest’s suite along with a note that read, “I’ve missed you all these years, my dear friend.” She even granted a guest’s wish to celebrate one more Christmas with his beloved wife before returning to the U.K. for end-of-life care by surprising the couple with holiday decorations — tree and all — in its suite in March.

Les Clefs d’Or Young Concierge of the Year Award by Frette: Julie Benhaim of Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris

Julie Benhaim received the prestigious Les Clefs d’Or Young Concierge of the Year Award by Frette for her outstanding achievements as the concierge at the Five-Star Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris. Benhaim underwent rigorous testing to attain this award, impressing the Award Committee with her extensive knowledge and her ability to handle requests gracefully and efficiently. She is the youngest Frenchwoman to ever receive this distinction.

“The Young Concierge of the Year award celebrates emerging talent in the hospitality industry — individuals who exemplify dedication, creativity and an unwavering commitment to service,” said Filippo Arnaboldi, CEO of Frette, upon presenting Benhaim with the award. “Their ability to anticipate guest needs, create seamless experiences and uphold the highest standards of hospitality sets them apart as early-career concierge professionals.”

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