Anyone’s guest: Australia hotel rankings 2026

Choosing a hotel is rarely about one factor. Price, location, loyalty benefits, amenities, service expectations, and previous experience can all shape which brands make a traveller’s shortlist.

YouGov’s Anyone's guest: Australia hotel rankings 2026 examine which hotel brands are most considered among Australians likely to stay in paid accommodation within the next six months. This year’s hotel rankings focus on Consideration, and which hotel brands have improved most year on year.

The ranking comes as Australia’s hotel sector operates against a stronger performance backdrop. CBRE’s 2026 hotel outlook says 2025 marked a turning point for the sector, with international visitation continuing to recover, resilient domestic travel, and RevPAR growth across most major cities.

In this article:

• Top 10 hotel brands by Consideration among Australians likely to book accommodation
• Top 10 biggest improvers in hotel brand Consideration year on year
• Methodology behind the rankings

Novotel leads Australia hotel consideration

Novotel ranks first, with 21.0% of Australians likely to book accommodation saying they would consider the brand. Hilton follows in second place at 19.7%, while Accor ranks third at 18.1%.

The rest of the top five is tightly grouped. Sheraton and Marriott are level at 17.2%. Holiday Inn follows closely in sixth place at 16.9%. Hyatt ranks seventh at 16.5%, followed by Mercure at 16.2%, Sofitel at 15.2%, and Ibis at 14.2%.

While Novotel leads the ranking, the top 10 hotel brands remain tightly grouped. Fewer than seven percentage points separate first from tenth, suggesting competition for consideration remains relatively close among Australia's leading hotel brands. For hotel marketers, that suggests the category is competitive, with several familiar names still close enough to challenge attention among likely accommodation bookers.

Which hotel brands improved most year on year?

The year-on-year movers table adds a second view of brand momentum. Novotel records the largest increase, with Consideration rising by 3.6 percentage points. Accor follows with a 3.4-point gain, while InterContinental (IHG) rises by 3.1 points.

Mercure also posts a clear gain, up 2.1 points. Hyatt increases by 1.8 points, and DoubleTree by Hilton rises by 1.7 points. Sheraton, Sofitel, Mantra, and Hilton complete the top 10 improvers, with gains ranging from 1.6 points to 1.3 points.

Novotel appears at the top of both lists, combining the highest current Consideration with the strongest year-on-year improvement. Accor, Mercure, Hyatt, Sheraton, Sofitel, and Hilton also appear in both the top 10 ranking and the improvers table.

Brands already near the top are not only holding strong positions but also gaining consideration among accommodation bookers.

Explore more Australia hotel brand data

These rankings show a selected view of hotel consideration in Australia. A deeper walkthrough can examine the full hotel brand data by audience, competitor set, and movement over time, helping teams see where a brand is gaining consideration and where it may need a clearer reason to be chosen.

Reach out to us for a walkthrough of the Australia hotel brand data, or book a BrandIndex demo to explore competitor benchmarks, audience cuts, and trend data in more detail.

Methodology

This article draws on YouGov BrandIndex data collected from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The year-on-year improvers analysis compares the current period with 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. The ranking reflects brands tracked in YouGov BrandIndex and may include both individual hotel brands and parent/corporate hospitality brands.

The analysis is based on Australians who say they are likely to stay in paid accommodation (e.g. hotels or motels) within the next six months. The top 10 table has a minimum base of n> 2,870. The year-on-year improvers table has minimum bases of n> 2,860 for the current period and n> 2,860 for the previous year.

Consideration is reported as the percentage of respondents who would consider each brand. The source question is: “When you are in the market next to purchase Travel And Leisure products, from which of the following would you consider buying?” Percentages are shown to one decimal place. Changes in Consideration are expressed as percentage-point differences.

About YouGov BrandIndex

YouGov BrandIndex is an always-on brand tracking tool that measures consumer perceptions of thousands of brands across sectors and markets. It helps marketers monitor brand health, benchmark competitors, identify audience-specific strengths and weaknesses, and understand how perceptions change over time.