2010 U.S. Hotel Chain Survey

Starwood Hotels & Resorts' artsy Le Meridien brand this year by a hair ended JW Marriott's three-year reign atop the upper upscale tier in Business Travel News' 2010 U.S. Hotel Chain Survey, which tabulated ratings from 387 buyers. The upper upscale tier had the most varied and heated results, and other tiers saw a mix of familiar winners and newly emergent top brands. Among multibrand hotel companies, InterContinental Hotels Group and Hilton Worldwide fared the best, with the former boasting at least a third-place finish in all eligible tiers and the latter garnering three of the top five upscale slots and nearly sweeping the midprice tier with its Hampton brand.