New Brand Finance data shows Vinpearl is the strongest hotel brand in the Hotels 50 2026 rankings
KUALA LUMPUR, 30 July 2026 - Millennium Hotels and Resorts (brand value up 25% to USD526 million) is the highest ranked ASEAN hotel brand by positioning itself at 26th, according to the Hotels 50 2026 report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
Brand Finance's Global Brand Equity Monitor (GBEM) indicates that Millennium Hotels and Resorts – the sole Singaporean homegrown hotel brand ranked in the Hotels 50 2026 rankings – continue to perform strongly across key functional brand attributes, particularly trust, reliability, location convenience and ease of experience. The brand also benefits from growing recognition for its sustainability initiatives, particularly within its premium portfolio, helping to strengthen perceptions among increasingly environmentally conscious travellers.
Vinpearl (brand value up 86% to USD381 million) emerges as the strongest hotel brand this year, achieving a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 95.4/100 and retaining its AAA+ brand strength rating. The brand’s performance was supported by initiatives such as the Wonder Summer 2025 campaign, which strengthened customer engagement through bundled experiences, loyalty rewards, and exclusive resort benefits across key destinations. While Vinpearl has addressed external incidents involving fraudulent social media accounts, Brand Finance’s research indicates a slight decline in reputation score, highlighting the importance of continued investment in brand protection and consumer trust.
With a BSI score of 89/100 and an AAA brand strength rating, Centara Hotels & Resorts (brand value up 21% to USD390 million) ranks as the fifth strongest hotel brand among the top 50 hotel brands this year. Brand Finance market research data shows that Centara’s strong performance has been supported by its continued focus on enhancing guest experiences, expanding its global presence, and strengthening brand engagement through initiatives such as its ‘CentaraThe1’ loyalty programme and destination led hospitality offerings. These efforts have helped reinforce customer familiarity, consideration, and overall brand strength across key markets especially its home market, Thailand, Japan and Maldives.
Making its debut into the global ranking, Berjaya Hotels & Resort (new entrant at USD304 million) reflects the brand's growing international presence across Asia, Europe and the Indian Ocean. Its diversified portfolio of city hotels, luxury resorts and destination properties has strengthened its resilience while enabling the brand to capitalise on the continued recovery in global leisure and business travel.
Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance, commented:
"This year's ranking shows there is no single formula for building a strong hotel brand. Vinpearl has strengthened its position through compelling customer experiences, Millennium Hotels and Resorts continues to build trust and consistency across its portfolio, Centara Hotels & Resorts has reinforced guest engagement through its loyalty ecosystem, and Berjaya Hotels & Resorts reflects the growing international ambition of ASEAN hospitality brands. Together, they demonstrate that clear brand positioning and consistently delivering on the brand promise are key drivers of long-term brand value."
Global Hotels Standings
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, 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.
