Domestic travel was crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic. For a time, traffic for airlines, hotels and cruises nearly disappeared. Some companies needed government assistance to stay afloat. International travel was hurt even more, as countries blocked visitors from outside their borders. Most of these restrictions, both international and domestic, have been lifted. However, as the virus continues to spread, the industry will never be the same again.
As people do start to travel, another industry has recovered. A number of media and travel booking services rate hotels, airlines and hotels. Some of these ratings are based on customers reviews. Others are based on the opinion of travel experts. Presumably, these reviews matter in terms of how people travel and where they stay.
The Hotel Chain Index from small business travel website Bounce asks this question: “Staying in a relaxing and luxurious hotel can make all the difference between a good vacation and a great one. Popular hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott can be found in world-class cities across the globe, but which is the best hotel brand to stay at?”
The data included hotel review scores, the number of Google searches, the number of countries where a chain was located, the number of available hotel locations and the annual revenue of the parent company. Information to support these metrics was pulled from BestCompany, Facebook, Trustpilot, Google Keyword Planner, Wikipedia, ZoomInfo, DNB and Five Star Alliance.
The maximum score a hotel chain could receive is 5. The “least successful” hotel chain, that is the one that received the lowest score (2.0), was Park Plaza Hotels. The next worst was budget hotel operator Econo Lodge with a rating of 2.17.
Park Plaza Hotels is owned by the Radisson Hotel Group. Radisson is among the world’s largest hotel umbrella companies and controls about 1,400 hotels worldwide.
These are the 10 worst hotels in the world:
| Chain | Rating | Countries | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Plaza Hotels | 2.00 | 7 | 35 |
| Econo Lodge | 2.17 | 2 | 779 |
| Raffles Hotels | 3.25 | 15 | 21 |
| Hampton by Hilton | 3.67 | 36 | 2,833 |
| Ramada | 3.67 | 75 | 919 |
| Embassy Suites | 4.08 | 4 | 266 |
| La Quinta | 4.17 | 10 | 928 |
| Fairmont Hotels | 4.58 | 31 | 82 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 4.58 | 33 | 156 |
| Days Inn | 4.92 | 21 | 1,551 |
Click here to see which is the best country for tourist road trips.
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