NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - December 17, 2015) - The independent and objective Luxury Institute today released the 2016 Global Hotels Luxury Brand Status Index, which provides rankings and ratings of 40 global luxury hotel brands by affluent consumers from the world's richest countries. The New York-based Luxury Institute surveyed 3,900 consumers from seven countries who met 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 (¥150 million).
Respondents rated each hotel brand on quality, exclusivity, social status, and self-enhancement. In addition, affluent travelers weighed in on whether they are willing to recommend specific brands to other travelers. They also indicated whether hotel brands are worth premium prices, and which hotels they are most likely to consider for upcoming travel.
Luxury Brand Status Index scores range from 0-10, and are an average of respondents' 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."
Earning top honors among the 40 hotels considered for the 2016 Luxury Brand Status Index is U.K.-based Maybourne Hotels, receiving an overall LBSI score of 8.16, and the highest ranking on each of the four key metrics. Despite Mayfair's strong showing among affluent travelers who are familiar with the brand, it is not a well-known name.
The top five worldwide hotel brands with which affluent are most familiar, and most likely to have visited in the past year, are Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Grand Hyatt, and InterContinental.
Other highly ranked luxury hotel brands are Aman Resorts (8.02), operator of serene resorts in Utah, Turks & Caicos, the Philippines, and Indonesia, the Ritz-Carlton (8.02), and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (8.01).
On a country-specific basis, the luxury hotels with the highest LBSI scores in each of the seven countries are as follows:
• U.S.: Aman Resorts (8.49)
• U.K.: The Peninsula Hotels (7.86)
• France: Banyan Tree (8.00)
• Germany: The Ritz-Carlton (8.23)
• Italy: Mandarin Oriental (8.50)
• Japan: Aman Resorts (7.78)
• China: Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts (8.54)
Worldwide, Aman Resorts and the Ritz-Carlton are the hotel brands most likely to be viewed as worthy of a price premium. Aman Resorts and Small Luxury Hotels of the World are the hotel brands that affluent consumers are most willing to recommend to others. Most likely to be considered the next time affluent consumers make a hotel reservation are JW Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and InterContinental.
"Hotel brands are only as good as the reputation they enjoy with their guests," says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. "Using the Luxury Brand Status Index as a gauge of how well their brands resonate with customers, management is better able to make smart investments that serve to enhance brand value."
About Milton Pedraza and Luxury Institute, LLC
Milton Pedraza is the CEO of the Luxury Institute. Over the past 12 years, Milton has established the Luxury Institute, first and foremost, as a high performance client relationship consulting firm. Our Luxcelerate System has helped our clients to significantly improve client data collection, conversion and retention rates. In addition, the Institute has conducted more research with affluent consumers than any other entity in the world. In the last decade, we have served over 1,000 luxury and premium goods and services brands across dozens of categories.
Milton advises and coaches luxury CEOs and advises the boards of top-tier luxury and premium brands, as well as luxury startups. He is sought after worldwide for his practical, innovative and humanistic insights and recommendations on luxury and is the most quoted global luxury industry expert in leading media and publications.
Milton is also an authority on customer relationship management technologies, analytics, and Big Data. Prior to founding the Luxury Institute, his successful career at Fortune 100 companies included executive roles at Altria, PepsiCo, Colgate, Citigroup and Wyndham Worldwide.
Milton was born in Colombia, raised in the United States, and has lived in several countries. He has conducted business in over 100 countries, and speaks several languages.
The complete 2016 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).
Contact Information:
Katherine Sousa
ksousa@luxuryinstitute.com