The independent analysis of 2.25 million online consumer-generated reviews on TripAdvisor was carried our by Luxury Branding, which ranked global luxury hotel brands for both consumer sentiment and consistency across the hotel portfolios.
Piers Schmidt, founder of Luxury Branding, which carried out the research for the World’s Most Popular Luxury Hotel Brands 2015 report, said: “We are all familiar with the industry’s pantheon of leading brands, which are viewed by hospitality experts as the foremost exemplars of luxury."
“Less well publicised however is whether the actual guests of these brands also consider them to be the best or whether the luxury status quo is just a cunningly curated PR myth,” Schmidt said.
Luxury Branding selected 59 global brands and then looked at their 1,600 properties across 135 countries during the August 10-14 period. It now claims its new listing is the most accurate measure of true popularity as it is based on real consumer feedback.
"Luxury travellers are better informed than ever and with the continued rapid growth of sites like TripAdvisor, a more reliable assessment of luxury hospitality has emerged," said Schmidt.
Following Ritz-Carlton’s number one position, the other groups to make it into the top 10 were Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Langham Hotels and Resorts, Rocco Forte Hotels, Dorchester Collection, Capella Hotels and Resorts, Park Hyatt, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Armani Hotels & Resorts.
Schmidt said Ritz-Carlton’s success was most likely due to its service consistency and ability to instil its Gold Standards within every employee.
“We are honoured to receive this distinction atop an elite group of companies that focus on customer service excellence,” said Herve Humler, president and chief operations officer of Ritz-Carlton. “We are a customer-centric organisation which has been built on the feedback our guests afford us. We appreciate the external recognition of our efforts and the continued support of The Ritz-Carlton from global travellers.”
Schmidt said that while TripAdvisor had its “detractors” in the luxury segment, no-one could ignore its power.
“Guest reviews prick the pomp and propaganda of brands that would once have gone unchallenged. No establishment, however feted, is above a negative review on TripAdvisor,” he said.
The full report is available to download.
