Best Loved Hotels
Best Loved Hotels is a curated online booking platform and collection of independent luxury and boutique hotels founded in 1993, serving leisure and business travelers across more than 30 countries. It operates as a consumer-facing brand of HotelREZ Limited and leverages HotelREZ's GDS, CRS, and OTA distribution infrastructure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersNewark, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Best Loved Hotels does
Best Loved Hotels is a curated collection and online booking platform for independent luxury and boutique hotels, resorts, and apartments, founded in 1993 and operated as a trading name of HotelREZ Limited, a privately held UK company headquartered in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The platform aggregates 100+ vetted independent properties across more than 30 countries spanning Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa & the Indian Ocean, and serves primarily leisure travelers (couples, families, and individuals seeking authentic, character-driven stays including romantic getaways, spa and wellness retreats, golf holidays, beach escapes, city breaks, and country house stays) and secondarily business travelers seeking reliable, well-located accommodation with corporate amenities. Distribution combines direct-to-consumer channels (proprietary website with online booking engine, telephone reservations, email newsletter, content/blog, and organic social across Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest) with B2B channels inherited from HotelREZ: GDS distribution to 750,000+ travel agencies via Sabre, Galileo/Worldspan (Travelport), and Amadeus, DHISCO alternative distribution access to 18 billion monthly shopping transactions, and Channel Connects to nearly 600 OTAs and tour operators.
The underlying technology stack is owned by HotelREZ and includes CentralREZ CRS (central reservation system), REZbooker (direct booking engine), RateDisplay widgets, Channel Manager Distribution, REZswitch two-way interfaces for PMS/RMS/OTA integration, Commission Processing Tool, REZtoMarket and REZmedia content and image management, TelREZ private-label call centre, and Business Intelligence & Analysis for cross-channel reservation and revenue insight; HotelREZ is PCI DSS certified for payment processing. The HotelREZ ecosystem also encompasses two additional brands operating on the same stack: the Elegant Hotel Collection (a luxury soft brand) and World Rainbow Hotels (a GDS-enabled LGBTQ+ focused consortia).
Best Loved Hotels earns revenue through a combination of recurring membership subscriptions paid by hotels to be included in the curated collection and booking commissions on transactions facilitated through the platform, with individual hotels setting their own room rates and Best Loved acting as intermediary. Supplemental offerings include MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) services, Corporate RFP services to reach travel management companies, and digital marketing services (SEO, Google AdWords, PPC). No pricing tiers for the hotel membership program are publicly disclosed, and no revenue, funding, or ownership information has been disclosed in available sources.
Best Loved Hotels firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Best Loved Hotels
- Legal name
- HotelREZ Limited
- Website
- https://www.bestloved.com/
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Best Loved Hotels is a curated online booking platform and collection of independent luxury and boutique hotels founded in 1993, serving leisure and business travelers across more than 30 countries. It operates as a consumer-facing brand of HotelREZ Limited and leverages HotelREZ's GDS, CRS, and OTA distribution infrastructure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Best Loved Hotels industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hotel Booking & Representation Services
- NAICS
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lodging Booking & Accommodation Management (HSACAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Business & Corporate Full-Service Hotels (THAGAAAE), Design-Led Boutique Hotels (THAGADAA)
Keywords
Where Best Loved Hotels is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newark
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Best Loved Hotels business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hotel Membership and Representation: Hotels pay to become members of Best Loved Hotels collection, gaining access to distribution channels, marketing support, and the global platform. The company acts as an intermediary between accommodation providers and travelers.
- Booking Commissions: The platform facilitates bookings between travelers and member hotels. Depending on the hotel's payment arrangements (pre-payment or pay-at-hotel), Best Loved Hotels/HotelREZ may process transactions and earn commissions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Variable hotel-specific pricing based on room type, season, and property |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Best Loved Hotels product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Best Loved Hotels operates a curated online booking platform that aggregates a hand-picked collection of independent hotels, resorts, and apartments across multiple global destinations. The company, a trading name of HotelREZ Limited, facilitates accommodation bookings directly for travelers and provides hotel representation, distribution, and marketing services to independent hoteliers worldwide.
Product overview
Best Loved Hotels is a curated collection of independent hotels, powered by HotelREZ technology platform. The core product is a hotel booking platform offering access to independent properties across global destinations with inspirational collections and member benefits. The HotelREZ platform provides distribution technology including CentralREZ CRS (Central Reservation System) as the core infrastructure, REZbooker as the direct booking engine, Channel Manager Distribution for OTA/GDS connectivity, and supporting modules including RateDisplay Widgets, Business Intelligence, Commission Processing, Content Management Tools, Website Design, Digital Marketing, PR/Social Media, and Hotel Call Centre (TelREZ) services. The ecosystem also includes soft brand collections: Elegant Hotel Collection (luxury segment) and World Rainbow Hotels (LGBTQ+ focused consortia).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Best Loved Hotels Booking Platform A curated collection and booking platform for independent hotels, offering accommodation bookings, destination guides, inspirational collections, and exclusive member offers across global destinations.
- CentralREZ CRS Central Reservation System providing a single point to manage all online distribution for hotel properties.
- REZbooker Booking Engine Direct hotel booking engine that converts online visitors to hotel guests, enabling properties to accept bookings directly through their websites.
- Hotel Call Centre (TelREZ) Private-label call centre solution offering customized and flexible service for hotel reservations and customer support.
- Digital Marketing Services SEO, Google AdWords and PPC campaigns to drive direct traffic to hotel websites.
- Hotel Website Design Design and build services for fully responsive hotel websites.
- MICE Services Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events services to receive conference, seminar and event bookings via specialized meetings desk.
- Corporate RFP Services Request for Proposals service enabling hotels to access Consortia and TMC (Travel Management Company) business.
- Elegant Hotel Collection A full-service luxury soft brand for unique and inspiring hotels, offering global reach, tailored support, and high-touch representation.
- World Rainbow Hotels A GDS-enabled global hotel consortia dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, connecting properties with travel agents, corporate buyers, and equality-championing partners.
Companies that use Best Loved Hotels
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Best Loved Hotels technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature1 record
Best Loved Hotels partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- HotelREZ LimitedcoreBest Loved Hotels is a trading name of HotelREZ Limited, the parent company providing the technology platform, global distribution systems (GDS), central reservation system (CentralREZ CRS), channel management, and operational infrastructure. Best Loved Hotels operates as a consumer-facing brand under the HotelREZ umbrella, which also includes HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts, World Rainbow Hotels (LGBTQ+ focused consortia), and Elegant Hotel Collection (luxury soft brand).
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Best Loved Hotels competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mr & Mrs Smith: Curated collection of boutique and luxury hotels for discerning travelers. Directly comparable in curation model, membership economics, and themed collections — and one of the closest competitive analogs to Best Loved Hotels in the independent-luxury niche.
- Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH): Global consortium of small luxury independent hotels with curated membership, soft-brand representation, and GDS distribution. Closely comparable business model and target traveler, operating at larger scale.
- Design Hotels: Curated portfolio of design-led independent hotels and resorts with global distribution. Overlaps with Best Loved Hotels' 'Design' and boutique collections and shares the same membership/representation model.
- Relais & Châteaux: Association of luxury hotels and restaurants emphasizing heritage, gastronomy, and character. Highly comparable curation approach and target segment, particularly the country houses and heritage properties Best Loved Hotels features.
- Tablet Hotels: Curated booking platform for boutique and independent hotels with editor-driven recommendations. Direct overlap in curation methodology and independent-hotel focus, with similar direct-to-consumer positioning.
- Secret Escapes: Members-only travel club offering discounted rates at luxury and boutique hotels. Comparable target customer (luxury leisure travelers) and exclusive-offer mechanics via email newsletter, similar to Best Loved Hotels' Stay Inspired newsletter.
- Elegant Hotel Collection: Sibling soft-brand under HotelREZ Limited serving luxury independent hotels with global distribution and representation. Operates as a near-adjacent product within the same parent organization, competing for the same hotel-member and traveler pool.
Broad incumbents
- Booking.com: World's largest online travel agency with broad inventory including independent hotels. Competes with Best Loved Hotels on breadth, paid traffic acquisition, and increasingly on curated/luxury verticals.
- Expedia: Major full-service online travel agency serving leisure and business travelers with broad hotel inventory. Adjacent incumbent competing for the same traveler wallet share across independent and chain properties.
Emerging players
- Plum Guide: Curated vacation rental platform vetting premium homes and apartments for design, comfort, and location. Overlaps with Best Loved Hotels' curated independent-property positioning but in short-term rentals rather than hotels.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Best Loved Hotels social profiles
Digital presenceBest Loved Hotels compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Best Loved Hotels financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Best Loved Hotels leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Best Loved Hotels funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Best Loved Hotels M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Best Loved Hotels
What does Best Loved Hotels do?
Best Loved Hotels operates a curated online booking platform that aggregates a hand-picked collection of independent hotels, resorts, and apartments across multiple global destinations. The company, a trading name of HotelREZ Limited, facilitates accommodation bookings directly for travelers and provides hotel representation, distribution, and marketing services to independent hoteliers worldwide.
Is Best Loved Hotels a public or private company?
Best Loved Hotels is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Best Loved Hotels founded?
Best Loved Hotels was founded in 1993. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Best Loved Hotels based?
Best Loved Hotels is headquartered in Newark, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Best Loved Hotels make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hotel Membership and Representation is the primary driver. The others are booking Commissions.
Who are Best Loved Hotels's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mr & Mrs Smith, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), Design Hotels, Relais & Châteaux, Tablet Hotels, Secret Escapes and Elegant Hotel Collection. Broad incumbents are Booking.com and Expedia. Plum Guide is listed as an emerging player.
Does Best Loved Hotels have an API?
No public API is recorded for Best Loved Hotels.
What industry is Best Loved Hotels in?
Best Loved Hotels's product category is Hotel Booking & Representation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAKAC, Lodging Booking & Accommodation Management, with a secondary code of THAGAAAE, Business & Corporate Full-Service Hotels. Its NAICS code is 72111 and its SIC code is 7000.