Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice and Best of the Best 2026: how it is awarded, whether it is free, the badge and what not to do

Updated: 10 November 2026

Every year many hoteliers hear that their property has won a Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice award, while others wonder why they have not, or whether they can pay to get it. We read Tripadvisor's official pages on the awards, its guide for winning hotels, the 2026 Best of the Best Hotels press release and its transparency report on fake reviews (links at the end). Whatever we could not confirm, we say so. An award does not guarantee that an AI assistant will recommend you.

Summary

Travelers' Choice: according to Tripadvisor, it goes to businesses among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor. It replaced the former Certificate of Excellence.
Best of the Best: the highest honour, for the top 1%, with rankings by category and region.
It is based on the quality and quantity of traveller reviews and ratings over a 12-month period, plus an editorial process.
The official pages we read describe no way to apply or pay for it. Logos and templates for winners are offered free.
Fake or bought reviews can cost you the award: Tripadvisor may deny eligibility for breaking its content policies.

How it is awarded

Requirements published on Tripadvisor's awards page:

The property must have been on Tripadvisor for at least 12 months.
It must receive a threshold number of reviews within the evaluation period. Tripadvisor does not publish the number.
It must maintain or exceed a minimum bubble rating. Which one is not published either.
Some Best of the Best subcategories have extra criteria, such as the experiences or amenities the property offers.
Tripadvisor may exclude a business for serious safety incidents, alleged discriminatory behaviour by staff or management, animal welfare practices or breaches of its content policies (for example fraudulent reviews or intimidating users).
If there is an active travel advisory for the destination, a winner's badge may be temporarily hidden.

Best of the Best Hotels 2026

According to Tripadvisor's press release of 9 June 2026:

Winners were chosen from reviews and ratings posted from 1 January to 31 December 2025, plus an editorial process.
World's number 1 hotel: G.H. Universal Hotel in Bandung (Indonesia). Number 1 in the US: FivePine Lodge and Spa in Sisters (Oregon).
Hotel categories: Top Hotels in the World, in the US, and a new One-of-a-Kind category.
We found no official date for the general 2026 Travelers' Choice announcement or for the 2027 edition: not confirmed.

Is it free? Can you apply or pay?

What the official sources say and what they do not:

Tripadvisor explains the award only in terms of reviews, ratings and an editorial process. None of the official pages we read mentions an application or a payment to get it.
Tripadvisor's guide for winning hotels links to free marketing materials: Travelers' Choice and Best of the Best logos, a press release template and marketing templates.
Whether paid physical certificates or plaques exist, and what they cost: not confirmed. If someone offers to get you the award for money, be wary.
A Tripadvisor listing is free; paying for Tripadvisor services is not listed anywhere as an award criterion.

The badge: how to use it

According to Tripadvisor's guide for hoteliers:

You can use the award logo on your marketing materials: website, ads, email signature, brochures, blog and social media. Tripadvisor links to usage guidelines: read them first.
It suggests telling local media and your contacts, thanking guests for their reviews, using #TravelersChoice and tagging @Tripadvisor.
Our advice: always state the year of the award and never show a year you did not win. An old logo without a year can mislead guests.

What not to do

What Tripadvisor goes after, according to its 2025 transparency report (2024 data):

Do not write or commission reviews of your own hotel: review boosting (posting positive reviews to climb the rankings) was 54% of the fraud detected in 2024.
Do not offer gifts or discounts in exchange for reviews: about 9,000 businesses were warned over incentivised reviews in 2024.
Do not reward staff for collecting reviews: Tripadvisor removed 360,000 reviews linked to employee incentive programmes.
Do not use AI to write reviews: it removed 214,000 AI-generated reviews in 2024.
Do not pressure or threaten guests who leave a bad review: intimidating users is one of the breaches that can cost you the award. To ask for reviews within the rules, see /ask-guests-for-reviews-rules-2026.

Tripadvisor and AI

A company study, not a Tripadvisor one:

According to Temso (11 October 2026, 142,837 citations in 35,138 answers from July to September 2026, 12 countries), tripadvisor.com is the top source cited for hotels by Microsoft Copilot and the second by ChatGPT; third in Google AI Mode and fourth in AI Overviews. It is not in Gemini's top 5.
The study measures citations, not bookings. We found no source saying that a Travelers' Choice award makes a hotel appear in an AI answer.
What is within your reach: a complete listing and real, recent reviews. More in our guide /tripadvisor-independent-hotel-ai.

If you run an independent property

What travellers typically ask AI assistants:

Whether the hotel has good recent reviews and what guests highlight.
Whether it has won any awards, and in which year.
Total price, cancellation terms and how to book direct.
Keeping this clear and up to date on your website and listings (with the year of each award) avoids wrong answers.

How iQuota helps

We make your property available to AI assistants through a connector, with direct booking, payment at the property and 0% commission, at the price and terms you set. We have no influence on Tripadvisor's awards and nobody can guarantee that an AI will recommend you.

Want AI assistants to give your real prices and terms, with direct booking and no commission? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of businesses get Travelers' Choice?

According to Tripadvisor, the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor. Best of the Best goes to the top 1%.

Does Travelers' Choice cost money?

The official pages base it only on reviews, ratings and an editorial process, and mention no payment. The logos and templates for winners are free. Whether paid physical plaques exist is not confirmed.

Can I apply for the award?

The official pages we read describe no application. You need 12 months on Tripadvisor, a minimum number of reviews in the period and a minimum rating (figures not published).

Which reviews count?

Those from a 12-month period. For the 2026 Best of the Best Hotels, those from 1 January to 31 December 2025.

Will the award make ChatGPT recommend me?

No source says so. A Temso study (October 2026) puts tripadvisor.com as the second source ChatGPT cites for hotels, but it measures citations, not bookings or the effect of the award.

Sources

More guides for hotels

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