Key takeaways

• It's a vote by insiders. More than 800 anonymous Academy members each cast seven ranked votes, and the totals become the list. Nobody inspects the hotels against a checklist.

• Voters must have stayed. Each nominated hotel needs a stay within the last three years, backed by proof such as a booking confirmation or receipt.

• There are no scoring criteria. Voters back whatever hotels they think deserve it, so the order reflects the judgment of the people in the Academy.

• Hotels can't apply, pay, or opt out. Deloitte reviews the voting process and data, and sponsors' staff can't vote.

• Positions 51 to 100 come from the same vote. The extended list started in 2025 and is published about two weeks before the top 50.

What the World's 50 Best Hotels list measures

The World's 50 Best Hotels is an annual ranking that first appeared in 2023, from the same organization that publishes The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Its No. 1 spot gets most of the coverage. Passalacqua on Lake Como topped the first list in 2023, Capella Bangkok took it in 2024, and Rosewood Hong Kong was No. 1 in 2025 and again in 2026.

Far fewer people know how the ranking is put together. The short answer is that it's a poll: several hundred industry insiders name the hotels they rate best, and the vote totals set the order. No inspector checks the hotels against a standard, which makes it a different kind of signal from a star rating.

Who runs the list

The list is owned and organized by William Reed, the UK media group behind The World's 50 Best Restaurants and The World's 50 Best Bars. On September 9, 2026, the company launched a new master brand called The 50, and the hotel ranking is now formally titled The 50 Best Hotels. The organizer says the voting method hasn't changed.

The first three ceremonies were held in London. The 2026 edition moved to Paris on September 15, 2026.

The voting academy

The ranking comes from The World's 50 Best Hotels Academy, which has more than 800 members. It's split into 13 regions, and each one is led by an Academy Chair who recruits a set number of voters for that region.

Under the published rules, each regional panel is one third travel journalists, one third hoteliers, and one third seasoned luxury travelers, with a 50/50 gender balance across the Academy. At least 25% of members are replaced each year.

The Chairs are named publicly. Every other voter stays anonymous, which the organizer says is to prevent lobbying, and Chairs don't see how their panelists vote. Employees of the organizer and its sponsors can't sit on the Academy.

How votes are cast

Each Academy member gets seven votes and submits them in order of preference. The votes can go to hotels anywhere in the world, but the official voting rules attach a few conditions. Voters must have stayed at each hotel they nominate within the last three years, and they upload proof of the visit, such as a booking confirmation, a receipt, or a photo.

No more than three of a voter's seven votes can go to properties in the same hotel group, and brands under a shared parent company count as one group. Members can't vote for a hotel they own or have a financial stake in. To appear on the list at all, a hotel has to collect votes from more than one country or territory.

There's no scorecard. Voters aren't asked to rate service, design, or food on a scale; they pick the hotels they think are the best they've stayed in, and the ranking is the sum of those picks.

Which hotels are eligible

Eligibility is broad. Any style of hotel can be voted for, in any setting, at any size or price point, and there's no minimum number of years a hotel must have been open. A hotel must be open during the voting period. Hotels that have closed permanently by the time the list is published, or that will close within three months after it, are ineligible.

Hotels can't apply for inclusion, nominate themselves, pay to be listed, or opt out, and they aren't allowed to campaign openly to voters.

The 51 to 100 extended list

Since 2025, the organizer has also published hotels ranked 51 to 100. The extended list comes from the same Academy vote and is released ahead of the main ranking. In 2026 it was announced on September 1, two weeks before the top 50 in Paris.

The organizer also gives special awards, such as the Best Beach Hotel Award, and several of these carry a sponsor's name.

How independent the vote is

The ranking is funded partly by sponsors and partners, including American Express Travel, Johnnie Walker, and Ferrari Trento. The organizer states that neither its employees nor its sponsors have any influence over the results.

Deloitte acts as the official independent adjudicator. It has full access to the voting process and data and performs procedures to confirm the integrity of the vote and the resulting list. Its review covers whether votes were cast and counted under the rules; judging the hotels is left to the voters.

The bigger limits come from the design of the vote. With no fixed criteria, a 400-room city hotel and a 20-room country inn compete on the same ballot. Larger hotels host more guests each year, journalists among them, so more voters have a chance to stay there, and the rules require proof of a stay without saying whether it had to be paid for. Our guide to how hotels game award systems covers how properties court the people who decide these lists.

How it differs from other hotel awards

Most hotel ratings rest on inspection. Forbes Travel Guide sends anonymous inspectors to assess hotels against up to 900 standards, and Michelin Keys come from the guide's own anonymous inspectors. Those systems ask whether a hotel meets a bar, so any number of hotels can reach the top tier. Our explainer on every major hotel rating system compares those methods.

The Conde Nast Traveler Gold List is chosen by the magazine's editors, and Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards come from a reader survey. The 50 Best Hotels is a peer vote by a fixed group of insiders, capped at a set number of places and ranked in order. A hotel can hold a Forbes Five-Star rating and never appear on it. Our roundup of the best hotels in the world according to every major award shows where the lists overlap.

The list works best as a source of names for a shortlist: a record of where a large group of experienced travelers and hoteliers most enjoyed staying over the past few years. A hotel's exact position, No. 12 against No. 18, says little on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Can a hotel pay to be on the World's 50 Best Hotels list?

No. The organizer runs a no pay-to-play policy, and hotels can't apply, nominate themselves, or opt out. Sponsors help fund the event and put their names to some special awards, but sponsor employees can't vote.

Do voters have to stay at the hotels they vote for?

Yes. Under the current rules, Academy members must have stayed at each hotel they nominate within the last three years and must upload proof of the stay.

Who are the voters?

More than 800 Academy members across 13 regions, split in each region between travel journalists, hoteliers, and seasoned luxury travelers. Only the regional Academy Chairs are named; the rest vote anonymously.