The world's top luxury hotel brands have been ranked in a new study.

There are rankings of the best hotels in the world.

A new list released by the exclusive group LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence ranks hotel brands instead of individual properties.

A press release states that the ranking evaluates hotels within a brand in great detail, using over 100 touchpoints to assess a brand's ability to deliver, including its ethos and staff.

The Luxury Travel Intelligence membership costs $700 annually and offers access to the group's travel research. The website states that the organization does not sell advertising and that research is funded by subscriptions, and is independent.

The best luxury hotel brands

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 surpassed Oetker Collection as the top hotel group, with a very slim margin, according to the latest rankings.

Oetker Collection manages 12 hotels worldwide, including Le Bristol in Paris, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, and The Lanesborough, London, as stated on their website.

The Auberge Resorts Collection, ranked third, operates hotels such as Mauna Lani in Hawaii, The Lodge at Blue Sky in Park City, Utah, and The Vanderbilt in Newport, Rhode Island. There are a total of 27 hotels and resorts under the Auberge brand.

In 2022, the top three luxury hotel brands were ranked as follows: Six Senses (No. 1), Mandarin Oriental (No. 2), and Rosewood (No. 3).

This year, two new brands have been added to the list: Peninsula Hotels and Raffles Hotels & Resorts.

The challenge of maintaining the rapid growth of the luxury travel industry while maintaining the highest level of management and staff is significant.

He stated that this would significantly influence the group's future rankings.

The scoring system

Crompton stated that Luxury Travel Intelligence employs an algorithm to evaluate hotel brands, with a maximum score of 4,663 points.

Crompton revealed to CNBC Travel that the group employs a points-based system to eliminate subjectivity and personal feelings from the ranking, which this year totaled 130 "touch points." These touch points evaluated various factors, including in-room dining, guests' pre-arrival process, and a brand's social media engagement.

This year, Crompton observed that brands' investments in either new hotels or renovating existing ones significantly influenced the industry.

Crompton did not disclose the specifics of how touch points are weighed, but shared with CNBC Travel that they make adjustments to the touch points and weighting annually.

Other recognized brands

LTI monitored other brands that were "rated sufficiently" to be monitored.

The luxury hotel brands are: 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.

Brands with fewer than 10 properties but were highly rated include Airelles, Althoff Collection, Bulgari, Capella, Cheval Blanc, JK Place, La Reserve, Maybourne, Montage, Nikki Beach, Pendry, Soneva, Ultima Collection, and Virgin Limited Edition.