Hilton Hotels & Resorts has extended its lead as the world’s most valuable individual hotel brand and group portfolio over Marriott, according to the latest Brand Finance rankings.
The announcement comes in Hilton’s centenary year in which it was recognised in the United States as the Best Company to Work For in 2019 by Fortune, trumping Salesforce from its perch in the top spot.
Brand Finance said Hilton’s namesake saw its brand value jump 17% compared to 12 months ago, to US$7.4 billion, while the Marriott brand fell by close to 8% to a little over US$5 billion. Other brands in the Top 10 included Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Hampton Inn, Shangri-La, Doubletree by Hilton, Courtyard by Marriott, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Ramada Worldwide.
The report puts Hilton as the leader of the Top 5 Brand Portfolios, with a brand value growth of US$14.7 billion, up 41.4% on the year prior. Marriott’s figure slid 30.1% to US$12.9 billion due to a reduction in brand value as a result of “several challenges in the North American market from hacking scandals to persistent problems with its loyalty schemes”, the independent brand valuation consultancy said.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts retained its number 3 place in the report, despite a brand value decline of 8.2% to be valued at US$7.3 billion, followed by IHG which was nearly 8% higher in 2019 at US$6.6 billion and then Accor, down 0.5% on last year to be US$3.0 billion.
“Hilton’s brand value in the top 50 ranking is concentrated across six brands, up from five in 2018, all strongly leveraging the valuable Hilton brand name and each recording solid growth this year. Hilton has continually committed to its relentless expansion program and with thousands of new rooms and hotels in the pipeline, the company shows no signs of slowing down in the coming year,” Brand Finance said.
Marriott, on the other hand, saw four hotels drop out of the Brand Finance Hotel 50 ranking, with one new entrant joining.
Savio D’Souza, Valuation Director at Brand Finance, commented, “Hilton’s strategic approach to brand growth has allowed it to extend its lead as the world’s most valuable hotel brand. At the same time, endorsement from the flagship brand has rendered benefits across the portfolio as Homewood Suites, Double Tree and Hampton have seen their brand values soar. In its centennial year, Hilton is well positioned for another hundred years of success.”
Westin and Residence Inn were the two fastest-falling brands this year, both down 46%.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International held on, narrowly, to its title as the top Leisure and Tourism entity for 2019 (up 0.4% year-on-year to a market value of US$3.8 billion), just ahead of TUI (up 3.5% to US$3.7 billion). Norwegian Cruise Line was positioned 3rd at just over US$3 billion (up a whopping 27%) and Carnival was 5th, rising 26.7% to be worth US$2.9 billion.
View the full report here.
Lead image: Hilton Franklin Cool Springs