In this article we are going to list the 20 largest hotel chains in the world.
While I may not have travelled as far and wide as I want, or for that matter, as much as I want, even the few occasions I have been lucky enough to travel have been, to say the least, life changing and eye opening. For me, there are few things in the world better than traveling, seeing different cultures which allows us to learn, appreciate and even celebrate our differences while also being taken aback in a pleasant way when we find out similarities with cultures that our literally thousands of miles apart and figuratively, worlds apart. And while there may be many people out there who disagree with me completely, the fact that there are currently tens of millions of travelers across the world are evidence that there are many people who at least partially agree with me and my beliefs, if not fully.
While traveling and tourism may have existed for a while now, it is still a much more recent phenomenon than we consider it to be. Remember, we’ve only had flying for around a century now, and it’s only been a few decades that flying has been affordable enough for the middle class to start using it without having to consider selling their homes instead. For the past several centuries, people would travel either to explore that which had not yet been discovered, to expand their empire and conquer other tribes or to immigrate and try to set up a new life for their families and find new or better opportunities. Now, travelling is an affordable experience for many, even though even now, decent savings are required in order to be able afford a vacation as well as all other basic necessities rather than having to live frugally to set off the expenses.
Zvonimir Atletic/Shutterstock.com
The tourism industry has increased significantly through the decades and is now worth $8.9 trillion, which makes up more than a tenth of the total global GDP. For most countries across the world, tourism is a significant part of their economy, be it for developed or developing countries, but can be especially important for the latter, as these companies don’t have as established industries and practices, and tourism can provide a lot of relief, which allows the countries to develop their infrastructure and hence attract even more tourists. Tourism is responsible for more than 330 million jobs across the world, which include the hospitality industry, the airline industry, and various other industries and jobs, including tourist guides and rent a cars. There’s a reason why even countries who count among the richest countries in the world such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, who have some of the highest GDP per capita due to their incredibly vast oil reserves, have now forayed into tourism, to ensure that they have a diversified economy as oil will run out but tourists will keep on coming. This has led to incredible dissent in Saudi Arabia, where people are extremely against modernization but has seen the country become the fastest growing tourism country in the world. You may even be interested in considering taking a look at the 26 most visited countries with the highest tourist arrivals in the world.
And where there’s tourism, there are hotels. Hotels are present to ensure you have a comfortable place to stay, regardless of where you’re going and what your budget us. There are hotels to cover every sort of budget that you may have, from budget hotels to the most expensive and luxurious ones. You can spend less than 20 dollars a night at some of the cheaper ones to thousands dollars at some of the most expensive ones, where every whim and wish is taken care of completely. The global hotel industry is worth more than half a trillion dollars, coming from more than 18 million rooms and thousands of hotels across the world. 40% of the hotel market belongs to the US, with China being the second largest such market followed by the rest of the world. The 5 largest hotel chains in the world are absolutely dominant in the market, taking around a quarter of the total market share. It is one of the most intensely competitive industries in the world, with new brands popping up all the time. The establishment and resounding success of Airbnb has created even more competition for the hotel industry, and a lot of innovation is now required to ensure the long term success of the industry.
Of course, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, most countries across the world went into lockdown to prevent further spread of the disease, which in turn led to cessation of travel across the world and even now, when a year has passed since the pandemic began, most countries are not allowing visitors, and restrictions still apply as the second wave has taken a hold even stronger than the first one. This has absolutely devastated the hospitality industry, as hotels have been the first places to be closed down by restrictions and the last ones to open. Even those who have managed to open again face tons of vacancies as people are afraid to travel without a vaccine. The industry has lost billions of dollars and many hotels have either already gone under, or are under the verge. The good news is, there seems to be hope that working vaccines have been developed. In fact, just yesterday the first vaccine patient in the UK received the jab, a 91 year old woman, as those most at risk, are getting the vaccines first. So here’s to hoping that things start returning to normal in a few months or at most, a year.
The biggest hotel chains in the world have millions of rooms and tens of thousands of properties across the world. They earn tens of billions in revenue and are among some of the biggest companies in the world. When you start reading our list, you’ll most likely realize that you’ve heard about most of them, or maybe you’ve even stayed in some of them. These hotel chains don’t belong to just one class; they have options for economy, upper class and luxury rooms. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the biggest hotel chains in the world, starting with number 20:
20. Whitbread
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 76,000
The oldest hotel chain in this list was established 278 years ago in England as a brewery, before changing to the hospitality industry and becoming one of the largest hotel chains with nearly 800 hotels and over 2 billion pounds in revenue.
19. Minor Hotels
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 80,000
Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand is Minor Hotels which has more than 530 hotels in 55 countries across several continents, with 85,000 employees across all locations.
Copyright: razvanphoto / 123RF Stock Photo
18. Aimbridge Hospitality
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 81,400
Aimbridge Hospitality ranks 18th in our list of the 20 largest hotel chains in the world. Formerly known as Interstate Hotels and Resorts, Aimbridge Hospitality is headquartered in Virginia and has over 600 locations with more than 80,000 rooms.
Ditty_about_summer/Shutterstock.com
17. Melia Hotels International
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 95,000
Melia is a Spanish hotel chain and is the biggest hotel chain in Spain, and one of the biggest in Europe, with 374 locations in 40 countries and 4 continents.
Copyright: nesharm / 123RF Stock Photo
16. Ascott Limited
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 114,000
Ascott has over 700 locations in 180 cities, which span at least 30 countries in Europe, Asia and of course the US in addition to Africa and the Middle East as well.
Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com
15. Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 125,017
While primarily an investment company, it also acquired the Motel 6 and Motel 8 hotels, which has allowed it a place on our list of the 20 largest hotel chains in the world.
Pixabay/Public Domain
14. GreenTree Inns
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 173,053
Headquartered in Shanghai, GreenTree is only 16 years old and has 2,600+ locations and has a major presence in China and the USA as well.
Pixabay/Public Domain
13. Radisson Hotel Group
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 226,473
Radisson ranks 1th in our list of the 20 largest hotel chains in the world. It has a presence in more than 115 countries and has many brands including Radisson, Radisson Blue, Radisson Red and Park Inn by Radisson.
Pixabay/Public Domain
12. Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 228,351
Hyatt Hotels has around 900 locations and has grown over the decades both organically and through major acquisitions such as acquiring AmeriSuites which was later rebranded as Hyatt Place and has over 100,000 employees worldwide.
Pixabay/Public Domain
11. Jinjiang International
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 235,500
You will see significant dominance from Chinese and American companies in the list of largest hotel chains in the world and this trend is given credence by Jinjiang International, which is a state owned tourism and hospitality country.
10. Best Western Hotels
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 369360
The Best Western group is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and has franchised over 4,700 locations across the world and is one of the oldest companies here, having been founded in 1946.
Tupungato/Shutterstock.com
9. Home Inn (NASDAQ:HMIN)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 414,952
This hotel chain in China is the biggest budget hotel chain in the country and counts itself as the first such budget chain to be established in the country.
Copyright: worldwidestock / 123RF Stock Photo
8. Huazhu Hotels Group
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 575,488
The largest hotel company in China, Huazhu was founded 15 years ago in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai.
Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock.com
7. Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 600,000
Choice Hotels has more than 7,100 properties in 41 countries, while this American company also has plans to add at least 1,000 more properties with more than 85,000 rooms. The company earned over $1 billion in revenue in 2019.
Pixabay/Public Domain
6. Accor
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 739,537
Accor is based in France, and is one of the largest hospitality companies in Europe, and the biggest in France, with more than 4,800 locations in 100 countries and more than 280,000 employees.
360b/Shutterstock.com
5. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (NYSE:WH)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 809,900
3 of the top 5 largest hotel chains in the world belong to the US, and Wyndham has more than 9,000 locations and has several famous hotel brands within its portfolio, including but not limited to Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn and Baymont.
Tupungato/Shutterstock.com
4. OYO
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 850,000
Oyo is one of the biggest recent success stories from the entrepreneurial spirit of India, which is also one of the most recent companies in the list, having only been founded in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal, who became the second youngest billionaire in the world in 2020. Oyo partners with hotels to provide a similar experience across all hotels branded as Oyo and has achieved great success in a very short time.
Pixabay/Public Domain
3. InterContinental Hotels Group
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 889,582
Headquartered in Buckinghamshire, England, InterContinental Hotels Group is the largest European hotel chain with nearly 900,000 rooms in around 5,900 locations across the world. The group has a presence in over a hundred countries globally and owns several major brands including InterContinental, Regent Hotels, Crowne Plaza and several others. Its revenue was over $4.6 billion in 2019, though this has taken a hit in 2020. The hotel chain has around 37,000 employees worldwide.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 977,000
The top two hotel chains in the world are American, and this does not really come as a surprise as we mentioned earlier on that America is by far the biggest market in the world for hotels, far ahead of any other country including China. Founded in 1919, Hilton has a presence in 118 countries and territories across the globe with over 6,200 properties. Most of these locations are franchised and Hilton owns many famous hotel brands including Conrad Hotel & Resorts, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton by Hilton and many others as well. Its revenue in 2019 was around $9.45 billion which was a 6% increase from 2018. It is considered to be one of the best places to work at in the US, even topping the list of the 2012 Happiest Companies in America.
DayOwl/Shutterstock.com
1. Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR)
Total number of rooms across all hotels: 1,380,921
Easily topping the list of the 10 largest hotel chains in the world is the only such chain with over a million rooms globally, Marriott International. An American company, Marriott was established 93 years ago in 1927, and is one of the biggest companies in the US, with over $20 billion in revenue in 2019 alone. Its income was around $1.27 billion in the same period and it has a presence in more than 130 countries across the globe. It’s nearly 1.4 million rooms are present in nearly 7,500 locations and it has a further 510,000 rooms that are currently present in the development pipeline.
The company includes various brands, and you will be familiar with many of them, including of course JW Marriott Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton hotels and St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, not to mention Bulgari Hotels and Resorts. Of course, the current pandemic has devastated the hospitality industry and even the largest hotel chain is not exempt from the severe effects of the same which is why the company actually reported losses of around $200 million in the second quarter of 2020.
See also: 10 trendiest boutique hotel chains in America and 10 most famous New York City hotels featured in movies
DoublePHOTO studio/Shutterstock.com
Disclosure: None
Suggested Articles:
Disclosure: No positions. 20 Largest Hotel Chains In The World is originally published at Insider Monkey.
