Luxury Institute Reveals Rankings of Global Luxury Hotel Brands by Affluent Travelers From the U.S., U.K., Europe, Japan and China


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - October 05, 2016) - New York-based Luxury Institute released today the 2017 Global Hotels Luxury Brand Status Index with rankings and ratings of 40 global luxury hotel brands based on surveys of affluent travelers from the world's richest countries. The independent and objective Luxury Institute surveyed 3,900 individuals in seven different countries meeting the following income thresholds in local currencies: United States ($150,000); United Kingdom (£60,000); France, Germany, Italy (EUR50,000); China (1 million CNY); and Japan (¥15 million).

Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) scores are an average of respondents' (0-10) degree of agreement with each of the following four statements:

- "This hotel delivers consistently superior quality."

- "This hotel is truly unique and exclusive."

- "This hotel is visited by people who are admired and respected."

- "This hotel makes guests feel special across the full customer experience."

Affluent travelers also weighed in on which hotels are worth paying premium prices, whether they are willing to recommend a brand to people close to them, and which hotel they plan to reserve for their next overnight stay.

For the 2017 Luxury Brand Status Index, Aman Resorts earns the highest average LBSI score (8.02) from travelers all around the world. The Singapore-based hotel operator, which incorporates a wellness lifestyle at its resorts throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas, also ranks first for being truly unique and exclusive and a hotel that is visited by people who are admired and respected.

Ranking just behind Aman Resorts on the 2017 LBSI is Armani Hotels (8.00), which appears among the top three brands across all four components of the LBSI: quality, exclusivity, social status, and self-enhancement.

Other highly-ranked luxury hotel brands include The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (7.92), Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts (7.90), The Peninsula Hotels (7.88), Waldorf-Astoria Hotels and Resorts (7.87) and Maybourne Hotels (7.86). Travelers named The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company the brand most likely to make guests feel special across the full customer experience, and rank it highest, along with Armani Hotels, for delivering consistently superior quality.

LBSI scores in each of the seven countries reveal differentiation in regional preferences among affluent travelers. The highest-ranked hotel brands by country are as follows:

- U.S.: Aman Resorts (8.60)

- U.K.: Jumeirah (7.66)

- France: Small Luxury Hotels of the World (8.19)

- Germany: Mandarin Oriental (8.06)

- Italy: Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts (8.56)

- Japan: Armani Hotels (7.71)

- China: InterContinental (8.65)

Globally, the brands deemed most worthy of a price premium are The Peninsula Hotels, Aman Resorts, and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Club Med is the brand least likely to be rated as worthy of a price premium.

Regarding brands worth recommending to friends and family, the most frequently cited include Mandarin Oriental, The Peninsula Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World. The brands least likely be recommended: Trump International Hotels and Club Med.

The next time affluent consumers make a hotel reservation, brands they are most likely to consider are JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Four Seasons and InterContinental.

"Luxury hotel brands can only grow their business if they steadfastly maintain and improve the degree to which they appeal to affluent guests," says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. "By gauging customers' perceptions of quality, exclusivity, social status, and self-enhancement via the Luxury Brand Status Index, management teams at these hotel brands are better equipped to make decisions that build brand value and boost the bottom line."

Below are all 40 hotel brands surveyed in the 2017 LBSI Global Hotel study, listed alphabetically:

  1. Aman Resorts
  2. Armani Hotels
  3. Banyan Tree
  4. Club Med
  5. Como Hotels and Resorts
  6. Conrad Hotels and Resorts
  7. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
  8. Firmdale Hotels
  9. Four Seasons
  10. Grand Hyatt
  11. InterContinental
  12. Jumeirah
  13. JW Marriott
  14. Kempinski Hotels
  15. Le Meridien
  16. Langham
  17. Leading Hotels of the World
  18. Loews Hotels
  19. The Luxury Collection
  20. Mandarin Oriental
  21. Maybourne Hotels
  22. Oberoi
  23. Orient-Express Hotels
  24. Pan Pacific
  25. Park Hyatt
  26. The Peninsula Hotels
  27. Preferred Hotels & Resorts
  28. Raffles Hotels and Resorts
  29. Regent
  30. The Ritz-Carlton
  31. The Rocco Forte Collection
  32. Rosewood
  33. Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
  34. Small Luxury Hotels of the World
  35. Sofitel
  36. St. Regis
  37. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
  38. Trump International Hotels
  39. W Hotels and Resorts
  40. Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts

The complete 2017 Global Luxury Hotel Luxury Brand Status Index is available for purchase. For complete rankings and ratings with additional insights from the Luxury Brand Status Index survey, visit www.LuxuryInstitute.com, or contact Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza (mpedraza@luxuryinstitute.com).

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