A new ranking shows the best luxury hotel brands in the world

There are rankings of the best hotels in the world.

But a new list, released by the members-only group LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence, ranks hotel brands rather than individual properties.

The ranking analyzes many hotels within a brand in “granular detail,” using more than 100 “touch points” to evaluate “a brand’s ability to deliver,” ranging from its ethos to staff, according to a press release.

Luxury Travel Intelligence memberships cost $700 per year and grant access to the group’s travel research. It doesn’t sell advertising, and research is independent and funded by subscriptions, according to its website.

Luxury Travel Intelligence’s ranking for 2023 is:

1. Mandarin Oriental
2. Oetker Collection
3. Auberge Resorts Collection
4. Six Senses
5. Aman
6. Belmond
7. Four Seasons
8. One&Only
9. Rocco Forte Hotels
10. Rosewood
11. Peninsula
12. Raffles

For the first time, Mandarin Oriental took the top spot — topping Oetker Collection by a very narrow margin, according to the results.

Oetker Collection operates 12 hotels across the globe, including Le Bristol in Paris, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, and The Lanesborough, London, according to Oetker Collection’s webpage.

Auberge Resorts Collection — ranked third on the list — operates hotels like Mauna Lani in Hawaii, The Lodge at Blue Sky in Park City, Utah, and The Vanderbilt in Newport, Rhode Island. Those are just three of the 27 hotels and resorts under the Auberge brand.

In 2022, Six Senses was ranked No. 1, followed by Mandarin Oriental (No. 2) and Rosewood (No. 3).

Two brands are new to the list this year: Peninsula Hotels and Raffles Hotels & Resorts.

Michael Crompton, co-founder of Luxury Travel Intelligence, told CNBC Travel that “matching the sector’s continuing explosive growth with the highest caliber of management and staff is proving to be a significant challenge.”

He said he expects this to be a determining factor in the group’s rankings in the future.

Luxury Travel Intelligence uses an algorithm to assess hotel brands, which has a maximum of 4,663 points, said Crompton.

This year, it measured 130 “touch points,” evaluating factors like in-room dining, guests’ pre-arrival process and a brand’s social media engagement, Crompton told CNBC Travel. The group uses a points-based system to remove “inevitable emotiveness and personal opinion” from the ranking, he said.

Crompton also noted that brands’ investments — either in new hotels or in the renovation of existing ones — was a major factor this year.

Crompton did not reveal how touch points are weighted, but told CNBC Travel that “each year we tweak the touch points and the weighting.”

LTI also highlighted other brands that it said “rated sufficiently” enough to be monitored.

The brands are: 1 Hotels, Alila, Anantara, Banyan Tree, Como, Dorchester Collection, Firmdale, Jumeirah, Leela, Oberoi, Park Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-La, Soho House, Red Carnation, St. Regis, Taj, The Luxury Collection and Viceroy.

Additionally, brands that have fewer than 10 properties — the minimum required to make the list — but were rated highly are: Airelles, Althoff Collection, Bulgari, Capella, Cheval Blanc, JK Place, La Reserve, Maybourne, Montage, Nikki Beach, Pendry, Soneva, Ultima Collection and Virgin Limited Edition.