The 2006 edition of the ranking of the top 10 hotel groups worldwide marks a turnaround in the development of the supply of high capacity hotels worldwide. While the top 10 groups showed 1.2% growth in their supplies at the beginning of 2005, this growth is up by 6.9% at the beginning of 2006. After several years of moderation, the giants of the hotel industry worldwide (68% of hotel chains worldwide last year) have shifted into high gear…. In fact of the 10 top groups worldwide, 7 show development in their supply by more than 10,000 rooms! Number one worldwide for the third consecutive year, InterContinental, showed more modest growth (+0.9%). Behind it, its challengers entered into a harsh competition in terms of market shares. Several groups opted for the "external growth" option to accelerate their development. Cendant, the number 2, took over the management of the brand Wyndham, growing the group’s supply by 2.2%. Such weak growth might seem surprising in light of Wyndham’s addition of 30,000 rooms to its stable. But the latter was offset by the American group’s continued rationalisation of its supply as part of a strategy confirmed by the drop in the supply of its historic brands. One of the many events of the year has been the take over of the British Hilton International by the American Hilton Corp for 4.75 billion euros. The entire Hilton brand is now in the hands of a single entity. Thanks to this buyout, Hilton Corp moves up from the 6th to 5th rung worldwide, close behind Accor (+2.6%) and Marriott (+3.6%), the 3rd and 4th groups worldwide. Now, only 15,000 rooms stand between the challengers for the 3rd step on the podium. The franchiser Choice progresses (+3.4%) but slipped down a rung. Best Western, meanwhile, regains the...