LONDON, 9 July 2025 – Hilton has retained its position as the world’s most valuable hotel brand for the tenth consecutive year, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Hilton’s brand value increased 30% to USD15.1 billion, with the group expanding its global footprint and strengthening its offering in the luxury and lifestyle space. Now operating more than 8,600 properties across 139 countries and territories- with nearly half of 2024’s additions coming from the lifestyle and luxury segments - this growth underscores Hilton’s focus on experience-led travel and premium positioning.
Hyatt (up 32% to USD8 billion) holds second place, boosted by net rooms growth, a record development pipeline, and major openings across Asia and South America. Marriott (up 20% to USD3.8 billion) climbs to third, overtaking Hampton Inn (down 25% to USD3.1 billion), following a year of record signings, loyalty programme enhancements, and technology-driven service upgrades.
Henry Farr, Director, Brand Finance commented:
“The global hotel sector is firmly back in growth mode, with the total brand value of the top 50 hotel brands rising 4% this year to USD58.8 billion. Leisure and experience-led travel continue to drive performance, while key metrics like occupancy and RevPAR are on the rise. Asia-Pacific is leading the way, with China’s outbound travel resurgence playing a major role in the recovery.”
Taj is the world’s strongest hotel brand with a Brand Strength Index score of 92.2 out of 100. According to Brand Finance research, the Indian luxury hotel brand secured perfect scores in knowledge and selection in its home market. Scandic Hotels (BSI 91.3) and Marriott (BSI 90.0) rank second and third for brand strength, respectively. The UK’s Premier Inn made one of the biggest jumps, rising from 22nd to fifth strongest, supported by strong awareness and perceived value in the UK.
In the broader Leisure & Tourism sector, the total brand value of the world’s top 25 most valuable brands grew 22% to USD71.9 billion. Cruise lines recorded the fastest recovery, growing 57% year-on-year. Royal Caribbean International leads this resurgence, following the high-profile launch of its Oasis and Icon Class vessels. Booking.com retained its position as the most valuable Leisure & Tourism brand globally, valued at USD10.5 billion.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
