Hotel Chain Index

The most and least successful hotel brands in the world

Staying in a relaxing and luxurious hotel can make all the difference between a good vacation and a great one. Popular hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott can be found in world-class cities across the globe, but which is the best hotel brand to stay at?

We looked at some of the most popular hotel brands in the world and ranked them based on average user ratings, popularity, availability, revenue and the number of five-star locations.

The Most Successful Hotel Chains in the World

1. Hilton Hotels & Resorts (Hilton Worldwide): Hotel Chain Score: 8/10

The flagship brand of the Hilton Worldwide company, Hilton Hotels & Resorts is the best hotel chain in the world, according to popularity, availability, revenue and ratings.

With a total of 584 locations across 124 countries worldwide, there is no shortage of Hilton Hotels in most popular vacation destinations including London and Malaga.

Receiving one of the highest volumes of Google searches out of all hotel chains we looked at, there were 8.75 million searches in the last 12 months for Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

There are seven five star Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties, including the breathtaking Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa in Egypt and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

2. Holiday Inn (IHG): Hotel Chain Score: 6.83/10

With a growing presence throughout Europe, Holiday Inn is one of the world’s best hotel brands. Founded in Memphis, the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s budget chain of vacation accommodation is one of the most widespread hotel brands in existence, operating 1,190 locations in 54 countries across the globe.

Vacationers in top European destinations almost always have the option of staying at a Holiday Inn property, including in city break destinations like Lisbon, Paris and Madrid.

The most popular hotel chain on Google, Holiday Inn received a total of 25.43 million worldwide Google searches over the last 12 months, beating luxury hotels like the Four Seasons.

Despite having no five-star hotel properties, the popularity of Holiday Inn among vacationers is undeniable. Across all of the review websites we looked at, Holiday Inn has an average user review score of 4 out of 5.

3. Four Seasons: Hotel Chain Score: 6.33/10

Luxury hotel chain Four Seasons comes in third place as one of the world’s best hotel chains. The hotel brand has 122 locations across 47 countries, with the Four Seasons Resort Maui recently serving as the filming location for HBO’s The White Lotus. The Four Seasons also has properties in European city break destinations like Milan and Prague.

In the past 12 months, there have been 955,500 Google searches worldwide for Four Seasons hotels, and the chain has an average review rating of 4 out of 5 across the three review websites we looked at.

101 Four Seasons locations are rated five-star hotels, and the chain makes an estimated revenue of $2.1 billion.

The Least Successful Hotel Chains in the World

1. Park Plaza Hotels (Radisson Hotels): Hotel Chain Score: 2/10

Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts is an upscale hotel chain owned by the Radisson Hotel Group. With locations only in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, India, Thailand and China, the Park Plaza chain has more limited availability than most of the hotel brands we looked at.

Receiving the lowest number of worldwide Google searches in the last year out of all hotel chains on our list, there were just 155,400 searches for Park Plaza hotels.

Across the three review websites we looked at Park Plaza hotels has an average user rating of 3.6 out of 5 and the chain makes an estimated revenue of $172.7 million.

2. Econo Lodge (Choice Hotels): Hotel Chain Score: 2.17/10

Budget motel-based chain Econo Lodge is one of Choice Hotel Group’s most popular brands, with 779 locations across the United States and Canada.

One of the most popular hotel chains we looked at, there were 4,107,000 total Google searches for Econo Lodge in the last 12 months.

Across all three review websites we looked at, Econo Lodge has an average user score of 2.3 out of 5, and the chain is estimated to make $394,400 in revenue.

3. Raffles Hotels (Accor): Hotel Chain Score: 3.25/10

According to all the factors we analyzed, Raffles Hotels & Resorts comes in third place as one of the least successful hotel chains in the world. With just 21 locations in 15 countries, Raffles has one of the most limited availabilities of all chains on our list. 

However, Raffles’ limited number of locations illustrates the extravagance and exclusivity of the hotel brand, with 11 of its 21 worldwide properties being rated five-star hotels. The brand’s global portfolio includes properties in some of the world’s most upscale cities, like Dubai and Istanbul.

Raffles Hotels has an average user rating of 3.9 out of 5, across all of the review websites we looked at, and the chain received 605,600 Google searches in the last 12 months.

The Best Reviewed Hotel Chains in the World

1. St. Regis (Marriott International): Average User Score: 5/5

According to user reviews, luxury hotel chain St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is the best hotel brand in the world.

The Marriott-owned hotel brand is renowned for its five-star status and impeccable service, with St. Regis in Venice often regarded as one of its most impressive locations. Whilst, St. Regis Chicago is not only one of the tallest buildings in the city but is also the tallest hotel in the world.

According to all three review websites we looked at, St. Regis has an average user rating of 5 out of 5.

2. JW Marriott (Marriott International): Average User Score: 4.9/5

The second Marriott hotel brand in our top three, JW Marriott is one of the best hotel chains in the world, according to users.

With a portfolio of impressive hotel properties, one of JW Marriott’s most popular locations is the Dubai hotel, which is one of the tallest hotels in the world.

Reviewers on all three websites we looked at gave JW Marriott hotels an average rating of 4.9 out of 5.

3. Sheraton Hotels (Marriott International): Average User Score: 4.6/5

The international hotel chain owned by Marriott, Sheraton Hotels, is one of the best hotel chains in the world, according to customer ratings.

Across the review websites we looked at, users rated Sheraton Hotels an average of 4.6 out of 5, often citing staff friendliness and room comfortability as reasons for positive ratings.

The Worst Reviewed Hotel Chains in the World

1. Econo Lodge (Choice Hotels): Average User Score: 2.3/5

Budget chain Econo Lodge has the lowest average user review score out of all the hotel chains on our list. 

One of Choice Hotel Group’s most widespread brands with 779 locations across the US and Canada, Econo Lodge’s largest location is currently in Orlando, Florida.

Users rated Econo Lodge 2.3 out of 5 on average thanks to limited breakfast options and hidden "resort fees".

2. Ramada (Wyndham Hotel Group): Average User Score: 2.4/5

Multinational hotel chain Ramada, owned by the Wyndham Hotel Group, is one of the worst hotel chains in the world, according to reviews left by users.

The chain operates 919 locations worldwide, and visitors to these locations gave the hotel an average of 2.4 out of 5 across the three review websites we looked at.

3. Wyndham Hotels (Wyndham Hotel Group): Average User Score: 2.7/5

Wyndham Hotels has one of the lowest user ratings of all hotel chains on our list, getting an average score of 2.7 out of 5 across all of the review websites we looked at. Available in 33 countries worldwide, there are 156 open Wyndham Hotels & Resorts locations.

4. Days Inn (Wyndham Hotel Group): Average User Score: 2.7/5

One of the Wyndham Hotel Group’s budget chains, Days Inn operates 1,551 locations globally, with many hotels in Europe.

With one of the worst average user ratings, Days Inn has an average score of 2.7 out of 5 across all three review websites we looked at.

The Most In Demand Hotel Chains in the World

1. Holiday Inn (IHG): 25,426,000 Google Searches

Holiday Inn is one of the most common hotel brands in the world, operating 1,190 locations in 54 countries. Owned by the Intercontinental Hotel Group, the budget hotel chain is also the most in-demand in the world according to Google searches.

Over the last 12 months, there have been 25,426,000 million worldwide Google searches for Holiday Inn, beating out premium hotel chains like Fairmont.

2. DoubleTree (Hilton Worldwide): 11,046,000 Google Searches

DoubleTree by Hilton is one of the world’s most in-demand hotel chains according to global Google searches in the last year.

With 583 properties in cities including Milan and Brussels, DoubleTree by Hilton is one of the most widespread hotel chains. The brand received 11,046,000 Google searches from all over the world over the last 12 months.

3. Crowne Plaza (IHG): 8,887,000 Google Searches

With hotels in 52 countries across the world, Crowne Plaza is one of the most in-demand hotel chains. The Intercontinental Hotel Group chain received 8,887,000 Google searches in the last 12 months.

The Most Luxurious Hotel Chains in the World

1. Four Seasons: 101 Five-Star Properties

The Four Seasons is the most luxurious hotel chain in the world, based on the number of five-star hotel locations.

101 Four Seasons properties have been rated five-star, including the Four Seasons Prague and Toronto.

2. Ritz-Carlton (Marriott International): 51 Five-Star Properties

Premium hotel chain, the Ritz-Carlton is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, with its flagship location in New York.

There are 51 five-star hotels in the Ritz-Carlton brand, including properties in Vienna and Naples.

3. St Regis (Marriott International): 35 Five-Star Properties

Ranking in third place, upscale Marriott-owned hotel chain, St Regis is one of the most luxurious hotels we looked at.

With 35 five-star properties, St Regis resorts have a reputation for having elegant interiors and excellent service.

Methodology

We wanted to find the best and worst hotel brands, therefore we looked at the most popular hotel chains in the US and worldwide. We created a ranking for each hotel brand, based on the following criteria: hotel review score, number of Google searches, number of available countries, number of available hotel locations and annual revenue. We removed any hotel brands for which the relevant information was unavailable, including Aman Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and Ibis. For each factor, each hotel was given a relative score out of ten, and an overall score for each hotel was calculated as an average of the scores for each factor.

Information on the user review score for each hotel brand was sourced from Bestcompany, Facebook and Trustpilot, and an average of all three scores was used. For hotel brands with no reviews on either website, an average of the available reviews was calculated. The number of annual worldwide Google searches, from February 2021 to January 2022 for each hotel was sourced from Google Keyword Planner.

The number of available countries for each hotel brand was sourced from each hotel’s website and Wikipedia. The number of hotel locations operated by each hotel brand was sourced from each hotel’s website and Wikipedia.

The annual revenue for each hotel brand was sourced from Growjo where available. When unavailable, information was sourced from zoominfo and Dnb.

The number of 5-star hotels under each hotel brand was sourced from Fivestaralliance.