Written by Carrie Edelstein

LTI- Luxury Travel Intelligence- has revealed its annual list of the top luxury hotel brands in the world. The Six Senses brand has moved up from number eight to claim the top spot.

LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence- spent the past 12 months assessing properties with a rigorously defined algorithm that measures the performance and values of luxury hotel brands. That algorithm includes 123 touch points relevant to the luxury hotel sector. Each has its own weighted score value with a total maximum accumulative score of 4494*

The 123 touch points relate to overall brand performance, rather than the performance of individual properties. It’s all about a brand’s ability to deliver: its passion, commitment, ethos and values, as well as the quality of its management and staff. Continuing investment and how well it is executed is also a major factor, particularly in regard to new properties and the refurbishment of existing ones.

This year’s results are reflected as percentages, with last year’s positions in brackets.

1. Six Senses 82.8% (8)

2. Aman 82.3% (2)

3. Auberge 79.3% (5)

4. Belmond 78.7% (1)

5. Mandarin Oriental 78.0% (2)

6. One&Only 76.6% (11)

7. Rosewood 76.0% (7)

8. Four Seasons 74.5% (3)

9. St Regis 73.3% (9)

10. COMO 72.8% (10)

11. Peninsula 72.1% (0)

12. Alila 69.9% (0)

Other brands that rated sufficiently to be monitored throughout the year are (in alphabetical order) &Beyond, Anantara, Banyan Tree, Dorchester Collection, Fairmont, Firmdale, Jumeirah, Oberoi, Park Hyatt, Raffles, Ritz-Carlton, Rocco Forte, Shangri-La, Soho House, Taj and The Luxury Collection.

Brands that currently have less than ten properties (our minimum requirement) but rate highly when applying the algorithm are (in alphabetical order) Althoff Collection, Bulgari, Capella, Cheval Blanc, Maybourne, Montage, Nikki Beach, Oetker Collection and Soneva. This is an annual survey, announced in early September each year.

*Note - After due consideration LTI- Luxury Travel Intelligence- decided not to adjust their algorithm to encompass any aspect of the global COVID-19 pandemic, as each brand’s response is still unfolding. However, once more insight is obtained, this may have an impact on their 2021 report.

World's Top Luxury Hotel Brands