- YouGov: Value brands gain ground in rankings.
- Hilton tops business, Marriott leads leisure.
- Holiday Inn largest consideration gain and ranks second in value.
VALUE AND MIDSCALE hotel brands are gaining ground as U.S. travelers reassess lodging spending, according to YouGov BrandIndex data. Rising living and operating costs are intensifying competition for hotel bookings.
The 2026 U.S. hotel rankings measure hotel brand consideration among Americans likely to book a hotel in the next 12 months. The brands are owned by Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, IHG Hotels & Resorts or Hyatt Hotels Corp., and serve different trip types, budgets and traveler needs. Airbnb and VRBO are excluded from the rankings.
Consideration measures which brands consumers would consider when next making a purchase. Value measures whether consumers view a brand as representing good or poor value for money, while quality measures whether they view it as representing good or poor quality.
Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton, Sheraton and Hyatt complete the top 10, the rankings showed.
Brands watch
Marriott leads the hotel rankings, while IHG’s Holiday Inn posts the largest year-over-year gain in consideration. Marriott leads at 45.3 percent, followed by Hilton at 44.9 percent, according to the study. Courtyard by Marriott ranks third at 37.8 percent, followed by Holiday Inn at 36.7 percent and Holiday Inn Express at 36.2 percent.
Holiday Inn posted the largest year-over-year gain in consideration at 2.2 percentage points. Hyatt rose 1.9 points, Marriott 1.6 points, Red Roof Inn and DoubleTree by Hilton 1.2 points each and Wyndham 1.1 points. Motel 6, Hampton Inn, Hyatt House and Super 8 Motels also gained.
However, the rankings differ by traveler type. Hilton leads among business travelers at 46.5 percent, ahead of Marriott at 44.6 percent, while Marriott leads leisure-only travelers at 39.3 percent, followed by Hilton at 37.1 percent, the report said.
Hilton’s consideration score is 9.4 points higher among business travelers than leisure-only travelers. Hyatt Place, Grand Hyatt, Four Seasons, Sheraton and JW Marriott also score higher among business travelers, while Comfort Inn, Best Western and La Quinta Inn score 5.0, 4.8 and 4.2 points higher among leisure travelers, respectively.
Holiday Inn Express leads the value ranking with a net score of 34.5, followed by Holiday Inn at 30.6 and Courtyard by Marriott at 26.4. Marriott scores 25.7 and Hampton Inn 25.4.
Hilton also leads the quality ranking at 51.9, followed by Marriott at 51.0 and Courtyard by Marriott at 40.1. Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton Garden Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn complete the top 10, the study found.
Across the rankings, Marriott, Hilton, Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn have a consistent presence. Hilton leads among business travelers and in Quality, while Marriott leads among leisure travelers and performs strongly across value and quality. Holiday Inn is gaining consideration year over year while also recording a top Value score.
YouGov said the combination is notable as the cost of living rises.
The data covers July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and includes more than 10,960 U.S. adults, 2,290 business travelers and 6,300 leisure travelers. The year-over-year comparison covers more than 11,770 U.S. adults across July 2024-June 2025 and July 2025-June 2026.
In December, a separate YouGov report found that Americans were becoming more cautious about international travel, with 60 percent saying they had never traveled overseas for leisure. It said affordability would play a larger role in global travel in 2026 as economic pressures rise.
