Meliá, Barceló and Riu repeat in the ranking of the world’s largest hotel chains
The latest results of the annual financial year of the world’s main hotel chains consolidate the idea that the sector has now fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic. To corroborate this progress, the latest edition of the world hotel ranking compiled by Hotels Magazine reflects the positions of the major groups after the different expansions and the movements they have made in the midst of the reactivation and recovery of pre-pandemic activity.
Leaving aside the remarkable recovery in the 2022 financial year in economic terms, in order to understand the progress of the sector, it is essential to see how attractive the growth of each group has been. In this regard, some of the hotel giants have increased their establishments.
Marriot International repeats as leader of the podium after its success in the previous edition. With 1.5 million rooms, it is the hotel chain with the most rooms in the world. These accommodation figures are distributed among the 8,082 hotel rooms that Marriot has distributed around the globe.
Also repeating its position in the previous year’s ranking, the second place is occupied by Jin Jiang International Holding. The Chinese chain has not shown a notable growth in the number of rooms compared to the previous year, as in 2021 the 11,959 hotels that made up the group’s offer had a total of 1,239,274 rooms and in 2022 they increased to 1,266,976. It should be noted that, if Hotels Magazine’s analysis were based on the number of hotels rather than rooms, the Jin Jiang would overtake the Marriott.
According to the ranking, the third place also remains unchanged for another year in a row. The Hilton Hotel with its 1.1 million rooms is considered one of the most powerful hotel groups in the world. The US company has seen its strongest growth in its history since even before the arrival of the coronavirus, as in those three years it has seen its hotel plant grow by 1,055 hotels and 155,650 rooms.
The three largest hotel groups in Spain have dropped in the Hotels Magazine ranking.
However, it is not necessary to leave Spain to enter the ranking of the hotel companies with the highest number of stays. In the list of the 201 largest hotel chains in the world, four Spanish hotel chains appear: Meliá Hotels International, Barceló Hotel Group, Riu Hotels & Resorts and Eurostars Hotel Company.
Meliá continues to be Spain’s leading brand chain and occupies the 24th position on the list. The company led by Gabriel Escarrer has lost places compared to last year’s edition, despite having increased its size from 316 to 347. Just as the number of assets has increased moderately, the number of rooms has increased significantly from 83,722 in 2021 to the current 90,916 stays.
The Barceló Group ranks second among Spanish companies. The hotelier, which achieved €170.1 million in net profit in its 2022 financial year, has slipped down the Hotels Magazine list, from 26th to 33rd. The hotelier has 277 hotels spread around the world, which is six more than in 2021. But in contrast to its growth in accommodation, it has lost 4 of the 62,000 rooms it had in 2021, and finally totals 61,996 stays.
To close the podium of the best Spanish hoteliers, Meliá and Barceló are followed by Riu Hotels & Resorts, in 36th position. The company, which recently confirmed that it has launched a project to open its third hotel in New York City, currently has 96 hotels, which indicates that it has closed 4 during its last financial year. In terms of the number of rooms the group has, it closed 2022 with 49,444 stays, 1,462 more than the previous year.
