The Orlando’s Best Awards, are not like any other in Florida. We go to great lengths to ensure we deliver the most accurate and fair results possible.

There are three stages of the Orlando’s Best Awards that span several months.

Stage 1 – Nominations

  • Local residents can nominate an eligible candidate for any Orlando’s Best category.
  • For our 2023 awards, the nomination period is September 4–15, 2023.
  • Nominations are subject to approval by Inbound Systems to ensure the category is relevant to the candidate.
  • Based on nominations and reviews, we will announce up to 10 candidates per category in August. These candidates will advance to Stage 2 as nominees.
  • IMPORTANT: Once you have been named as an official nominee, be sure to claim your nomination by October 13, 2023! Candidates that do so are the first to receive important notifications and may be given preference in the final results (i.e. tie breakers).

Stage 2 – Voting

  • Local residents with a mobile phone can vote for a nominee.
  • For our 2023 awards, the voting period is October 9–13, 2023.
  • To obtain the most reliable results, participants are restricted to one vote per category. Participants may vote for the same company more than once IF it’s in a different category.
  • The top three nominees with the highest score in each category (averaged, if multiple locations) move onto Stage 3 as finalists.
  • Finalists will be announced on our website as soon as we are able to verify the results.
  • To obtain votes, nominees may share the voting page via email, social media, radio ads, etc. Nominees may not incentivize or pay for votes.

Stage 3 – Reputation

  • This is where the Orlando’s Best Awards shine! Rather than just a popularity contest of votes, we also count online reviews. Specifically, we’ll capture the previous 12 calendar months of online reviews leading up to October 13, 2023.
  • A finalist’s overall rating and the number of 5-star reviews (averaged, if multiple locations) on Google are included in the equation. Basically, the higher the rating and the more 5-star reviews received, the better the chances are of winning.
  • We will also reference data from the Better Business Bureau to make sure only the best businesses are crowned the winners. Lack of BBB accreditation does not influence results.
  • Because reviews are more difficult to obtain, we give them more value in the final calculation. Our simplified formula for determining the winners of each category:

5-Star Reviews x Overall Rating + Votes

Stage 4 – Winners

Awards will be given to the top three finalists.

Once the votes and reviews have been tallied, and we’ve checked the BBB ratings of each finalist, we will reveal who they are on our website within a couple of weeks after voting is over.

We will first announce the winners at our Orlando’s Best Awards Ceremony, tentatively scheduled for the evening of November 30, 2023 in the Orlando area.

If you’re a finalist, be sure to get your tickets as soon as they become available! We expect to sell out very quickly. At the ceremony, expect to be entertained while you enjoy drinks and a dessert as we announce the winners live and on stage. It really is a great time!

For those who are not able to attend the event, we will also announce the winners here on our website within a few business days.

Finally, we’ll announce the finalists and winners in our annual Orlando’s Best Magazine that is scheduled to be published within a couple of months after the awards ceremony.

NOTE: We reserve the right to update and/or clarify these guidelines at our own discretion and without notice. Check back for updates.