Leading Hotels of the World (LHW)

Leading Hotels of the World is the oldest luxury independent hotel collection, founded in New York in 1928 by 38 European and American hoteliers to share sales representation (especially for transatlantic travelers). About 400 hotels in 80 countries in 2025. It runs its own Leaders Club loyalty program. Membership rules favor independents but allow larger urban properties (300-500 keys), unlike SLH which caps at 200. Members include several Paris palaces (Le Bristol, Le Meurice), Cipriani Venice, Hassler Roma, and Hôtel de Crillon. For travelers, LHW remains the reference for grand independent luxury hotels at city scale.