This year, our algorithm has 130 touch points relevant to the luxury hotel sector. Each has its own weighted score value with a total maximum accumulative score of 4663.

The touch points relate to overall brand performance, not the performance of individual properties. The focus is on a brand’s ability to deliver: its passion, commitment, ethos and values, as well as the quality of its management and staff.

Continuing investment and how it is utilised is also a major factor – particularly regarding new properties and the refurbishment of existing ones.

Here are this year’s results, reflected as percentages, with last year’s positions in brackets:

1. Mandarin Oriental 81.4% (2)

2. Oetker Collection 81.3% (6)

3. Auberge 79.6% (4)

4. Six Senses 79.0% (1)

5. Aman 78.8% (5)

6. Belmond 76.3% (8)

7. Four Seasons 76.1% (9)

8. One&Only 75.1% (7)

9. Rocco Forte 73.8% (11)

10. Rosewood 72.1% (3)

11. Peninsula 69.8% (New Entry)

12. Raffles 68.5% (New Entry)

• Other brands that rated sufficiently to be monitored throughout the year are (in alphabetical order): 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, Viceroy.

• Brands that currently have less than ten properties (our minimum requirement) but rate highly when applying our algorithm are (in alphabetical order): Airelles, Althoff Collection, Bulgari, Capella, Cheval Blanc, JK Place, La Reserve, Maybourne, Montage, Nikki Beach, Pendry, Soneva, Ultima Collection, Virgin Limited Edition.

About The World’s Best Luxury Brands Report
No other organisation connects with the global luxury hotel industry as LTI does. Our researchers engage with everyone from CEOs of the brands we have rated to thousands of managers, staff and guests. This is all part of the process for creating destination-led reports for our members who are affluent, discerning travellers, but it also allows us to create this unique report. Every year the process starts again so the results from previous years have no bearing on the following year. This inevitably leads to volatility in each year’s results, however, this is a dynamic sector, and we want to reflect what is really happening out there.

Mandarin Oriental: World’s Best Luxury Hotel Brand
Mandarin Oriental has always performed well in our annual report. This year, they have improved further across all our touch points, placing them at No1. It is an engaging brand with a loyal and growing following, who appreciate its commitment to excellence. The much-anticipated opening of their London Mayfair property could be a pivotal moment for them.

New Entries
Two Asian luxury hospitality giants have made it on to our top 12 this year. Both Peninsula and Raffles are really demonstrating their commitment to delivering the best in global luxury hospitality. Both brands have always certainly been in the mix but now, via the intricacies of our algorithm, they are really proving their value.

Michael Crompton, Founder of LTI, comments:
‘This year’s results, showing just 0.1% difference between the top two brands, demonstrates how close the race to perfection is within global luxury hospitality. These brands continue to invest significant money and resources into ensuring they deliver the ultimate experience for their guests. Matching the sectors continuing explosive growth with the highest calibre of management and staff is proving to be a significant challenge; we think this will be a determining factor in the results on our leader board, going forward’

About LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence
We are a global members-only organisation, providing digital, up-to-the-minute reporting for affluent travellers who wish to make informed travel decisions, based on our honest and detailed intelligence. We cover luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and nightlife, in granular detail. We do not sell travel, have a booking engine, or carry advertising. Membership fees are our only revenue and we only answer to our members.