JLL Counts 59 Hotels Above $3,000 a Night, Up From Zero in 2019

Fifty-nine hotels around the world now average more than $3,000 a night, and in 2019 not one did, according to JLL research published October 10 in HOTELS magazine. The report, written by Dan Peek, president of the Americas for JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group, and research manager Christine Bang, also points to big 2026 trades such as the $765 million sale of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort as evidence that investors are betting this pricing will hold.

How fast are ultra-luxury rates actually rising?

JLL tracked 47 U.S. hotels with average daily rates above $1,000 using STR and CoStar data. Through August 2026, that group posted an average rate of $1,439 and revenue per available room of $909. That RevPAR is 160 percent of its 2019 level, against 133 percent for the wider luxury segment.

The rate line is the one guests feel. JLL says ultra-luxury ADR compounded at 11.5 percent a year from 2019 through spring 2026, compared with about 6 percent for broader luxury. In plain terms, the very top of the market has pulled away from merely expensive hotels, and the gap widens every year.

Why aren't more hotels being built to meet demand?

JLL's answer is scarcity. Global wealth has grown about 9.6 percent a year since 2015, based on UBS data, while ultra-luxury hotel supply has grown 2.3 percent. In the U.S., luxury supply is forecast to grow just 0.8 percent a year through 2028, below the 1.6 percent long-run average for all hotels.

Building is also the expensive route. Citing its own first-half 2026 investment report, JLL says hotels are trading at a 51 percent discount to replacement cost, which makes buying an existing landmark far cheaper than developing a new one. That explains why so much of the year's money has gone into established resorts rather than new ground-up projects.

Who is paying these prices?

The demand is concentrated. Households earning $200,000 or more make up 11 percent of U.S. households but now account for 36 percent of leisure lodging spending, up from 25 percent in 2018, per Tourism Economics analysis cited by JLL. The report also notes that Americans aged 70 and older hold more than $60 trillion in net worth, and that this group is traveling longer and more actively than past generations.

Which hotels are changing hands?

Beyond the Four Seasons Orlando deal, JLL lists the $1.38 billion sale of the 1,592-key Grande Lakes Orlando complex, home to The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, and the $835 million sale of JW Marriott Marco Island. High-net-worth individuals now make up 16 percent of luxury acquisitions priced above $1 million per key since 2021, up from 1.6 percent in 2015. Earlier this month Braemar also agreed to sell Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North for $372 million.

What does this mean if you are booking a top-tier stay?

Expect fewer headline discounts at the hotels that sit in that rarefied tier, especially in peak weeks. Where hotels do bend, it tends to be through inclusions such as breakfast, credits, upgrades and longer-stay offers rather than lower nightly rates, the pattern Skift recently described among Dubai luxury hotels. Booking early for holidays, shifting to shoulder dates and using advisor programs that add amenities are the most reliable ways to get more for the same rate.

It is also worth asking what the extra spend buys. JLL argues that the hotels above $3,000 earned that position through service levels, programming and exclusivity, not marble alone. For guests, that is a fair test to apply before paying a top-tier price: a private butler, genuinely limited inventory and experiences you cannot get next door are what separate the 59 from the rest.