In 2006, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital acquired Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Prior to this, Canadian Pacific Hotels had acquired Fairmont in 1999 and rebranded its own portfolio as Fairmont Hotels & Resorts by 2001. The portfolio was later acquired by AccorHotels in 2016.
Accor is a global hospitality giant led by Chairman & CEO Sébastien Bazin, but "Accord Hotels" can also refer to the independent Indian hotel chain owned by the Accord Group, chaired by Jagathrakshakan and featuring prominent figures like Venkatesh Bhat. While Accor (the global one) operates many brands and franchises hotels, the Indian Accord Group owns properties like The Accord Metropolitan in Chennai, managed by Venkatesh Bhat, showing distinct ownership.
In 2001, Canadian Pacific Limited, the parent company of both Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts, and Canadian Pacific Railway, was reorganized. During this reorganization, Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts was renamed to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, using the name of the company it had purchased in 1999.
The resort is owned by Aldesta Hotels Group, which owns hotels in B.C. and Australia. Last year, the company acquired the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in the B.C. Interior. Aldesta Hotels Group is, in turn, owned by Saliance Global Holdings.
In 2007, a deal was completed that returned Four Seasons to private ownership in a partnership between Microsoft's Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the major shareholders of Four Seasons.
No, the Hilton family no longer owns Hilton hotels; the brand is owned by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., a publicly traded global hospitality company that spun off most real estate ownership into separate entities like Park Hotels & Resorts. While descendants of founder Conrad Hilton may hold shares, most hotels are independently owned and operated by franchisees or other companies, adhering to Hilton's brand standards through licensing agreements.
Wyndham Group Hotels and Resorts, Choice International Group Hotels and Marriott Group Hotels & Resorts are the largest hotels in Canada in 2025 based on the number of locations.
Marriott is the largest hotel company in the world by number of rooms, with a whopping 1.5 million rooms in its portfolio. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, the company operates over 8,700 properties and 36 brands in 141 countries. In 2023, its annual revenue was 23.7 billion USD, a 14% increase from 2022.
The biggest hotel chain in the UK is Premier Inn, owned by Whitbread, leading by a significant margin in number of rooms and locations, offering budget-friendly, consistent quality accommodation with over 800 hotels across the country and beyond, making it the dominant force in the UK hotel market.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England.
Global Ranking of Hotel Groups in 2025 based on the Number of Rooms (as of 31/12/2024): Marriott International: 9,266 hotels / 1,683,204 rooms (+6.9%) Jin Jiang: 14,311 hotels / 1,439,756 rooms (+7.7%) Hilton Worldwide: 8,342 hotels / 1,249,814 rooms (+7.1%)
The Burj Al Arab in Dubai is often described as a 7-star hotel, but this is an unofficial rating, which is primarily a marketing tactic. There are no hotels that are officially recognized as 7-star hotels.
