A new HotScore Analytics study maps brand presence, independent hotels, luxury affiliations and geographic concentration across the Paris five-star market from 2023 to 2026.
Global hotel brands represent little more than a third of eligible five-star hotels in Paris, but control well over half of the room inventory, according to a new market-structure study by HotScore Analytics.
The report, Mapping the Brand Affiliation Landscape of Paris Five-Star Hotels, 2023–2026, analyses the brand, group and affiliation structure of the Paris five-star hotel market across three annual observation periods from May 2023 to May 2026.
In the latest 2025–2026 sample, the study covers 114 eligible five-star hotels with 9,643 rooms.
Global branded hotels accounted for 37.7% of properties, but 56.8% of room inventory, reflecting a substantial difference in hotel scale. The average global branded hotel in the sample had 127 rooms, compared with 62 rooms for an independent hotel and 53 rooms for a regional branded property.
A branded market — but not a concentrated one
The study also identifies an unusually fragmented brand landscape.
The 68 branded hotels in the latest sample were distributed across 45 distinct brand or group labels, including 30 global and 15 regional labels. Of these, 29 were represented by a single property, while no individual label had more than four hotels in the eligible sample.
| 37.7% | 56.8% | 45 |
|---|---|---|
| of eligible five-star hotels are global branded | of room inventory is held by global branded hotels | distinct brand/group labels across 68 branded hotels |
Independent hotels remain the largest single category by property count, with 46 hotels, or 40.4% of the sample, although they represent only 29.5% of room inventory.
Independent hotels increasingly operate with international network reach
The report treats hotel brand and affiliation as separate layers of market structure.
Among the 46 independent hotels in the latest sample, 17 had a recorded international affiliation, representing 37.0% of independent properties but 49.3% of independent room inventory.
Recorded affiliations include international luxury, representation and distribution networks such as Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Relais & Châteaux, The Leading Hotels of the World and Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
“Hotel count alone gives an incomplete picture of brand penetration,” said Iva Georgieva, Founder & CEO of HotScore Analytics. “In Paris, global brands have a much larger physical footprint when measured by rooms, while independent hotels remain highly significant by property count. Affiliation adds a further layer, showing that independence and international network reach increasingly coexist.”
Paris five-star supply is highly concentrated geographically
The report also maps the geographic distribution of the eligible market.
The 8th arrondissement alone contained 42 five-star hotels and 3,961 rooms in the 2025–2026 sample. Together, the 1st, 8th and 16th arrondissements accounted for 62.3% of eligible hotels and 66.4% of rooms.
The study finds notable differences in local market structure. The 16th arrondissement shows a stronger global-brand presence, while the 6th has a more independent profile.
Brand structure and guest-perceived quality do not tell the same story
The report also compares market structure with HotScore™ guest-perceived quality performance.
Across the three-year dataset, global branded hotels did not demonstrate a clear market-wide HotScore premium. However, they were disproportionately represented among the strongest-performing hotels, accounting for 19 of the 30 available Top 10 positions across the three annual evaluations.
Together with independent hotels affiliated with SLH or LHW, they represented 28 of 30 Top 10 positions.
The report notes that this does not demonstrate that branding or affiliation causes higher guest satisfaction, but it does show that global brands and selected luxury networks are strongly represented among the market’s top performers.
About the study
The analytical universe consists of five-star hotels in Paris with 20 or more rooms that met the review-volume and data-quality requirements for inclusion in the annual HotScore evaluation.
Across the three periods, the underlying dataset includes 115 unique properties. Brand and affiliation status was audited by period, while room inventory is analysed using the latest-period snapshot.
The full property-level classification remains part of the underlying HotScore Analytics dataset and is not reproduced in the public report.
Read the full 15-page report →
Zenodo DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22689185
Related research: Paris Five-Star Hotel Quality Benchmark 2026
About HotScore Analytics
HotScore Analytics develops hotel-market intelligence based on structured hotel-level data and large-scale analysis of verified guest feedback. Its research combines hotel quality benchmarking with market-structure analysis, including hotel brands, affiliations, room inventory and competitive positioning.