The Travel & Hospitality Leaderboard — ARA Travel & Hospitality Q3 2026

Competitive Ranking — by Total ARA Score

15 travel & hospitality brands. Five attributes are scored 0 to 20 each and summed to 100. The cohort average is 70. Scores run from 83 to 58, and movement is against Q2 2026.

01 Aman

AWESOME

02 Four Seasons

STRONG

-1

03 Ritz-Carlton

STRONG

04 Marriott

STRONG

05 Airbnb

STRONG

-4

06 Hilton

STRONG

07 IHG

STRONG

08 Hyatt

AVERAGE

09 Mandarin Oriental

AVERAGE

10 Club Med

AVERAGE

11 Shangri-La

AVERAGE

12 Kimpton

AVERAGE

13 CitizenM

AVERAGE

-4

14 Accor

AVERAGE

15 VRBO

AVERAGE

* first reading in this cohort, so no movement figure (8 of 15 brands).

The top

Aman 83

Up 8 points since last quarter, to 83, the largest gain in the category. Largest changes: Identity Fidelity +4, AI Recommendation +4.

chosen 19× of 60 / 32% / 4 of 4 models

All four models name Aman first for the most beautiful places to stay, and it takes 11 first places in 60 answers. None names it for trust, service, family or business travel.

Wins: best places to stay, hospitality, most memorable, romantic getaway, genuinely different.

Absent from: top of mind recall, most trusted, customer service, family vacation.

Rising

Marriott +4

Up 4 points since last quarter, to 80, the third-largest gain in the category. The gain came from AI Recommendation 15 to 19 and Identity Fidelity 14 to 16.

chosen 26× of 60 / 43% / 4 of 4 models

Marriott appears on 9 of 15 questions and comes first in 5 answers, strongest on business travel. The models explain it in fee and scale terms.

Wins: most trusted, customer service, family vacation, business travel, top of mind recall.

Absent from: most memorable, worth paying more, authentic local, genuinely different.

The bottom

VRBO 58

Up 6 points since last quarter, to 58, the second-largest gain in the category. Largest changes: Identity Fidelity +4, Clarity +3.

chosen 3× of 60 / 5% / 3 of 4 models

The models name VRBO on 3 of 15 questions and never first. None names it for family vacations.

Absent from: customer service, hospitality, most memorable, family vacation.

Biggest fall

Airbnb -4

Down 4 points since last quarter, to 74, the largest drop in the category, tied with CitizenM. The drop came from AI Recommendation 16 to 11 and Sentiment 15 to 13.

chosen 13× of 60 / 22% / 4 of 4 models

All four models name Airbnb when asked which travel brands come to mind, and none ranks it first there. One answer in 60 puts it first.

Wins: most iconic, top of mind recall, customer service.

Absent from: most trusted, hospitality, family vacation, romantic getaway.