Out Traveler Award Winner: Best Hotel Chain

Best Hotel Chain: KIMPTON
Runner-up: Hilton

What is it about Kimpton properties that LGBT travelers love so much that they named it the best hotel chain in the world--beating out W, Ace, Joie de Vivre, Marriott, and Hilton (which came in second)? It may be the San Francisco sensibility (the company is based there) that Kimpton brings to all its properties, which stretch from Boston to San Diego. The hotel designs are universally tasteful, but not ostentatious, and there's an emphasis on good food and wine; hallmarks of the good life in the City by the Bay. On top of all that, the company has supported LGBT causes since its inception in the 1980s, was the first hotel company to score 100 percent on the HRC Corporate Equality Index, serves as a sponsor of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and offers a loyalty program for LGBT guests. Kimpton also prides itself on hosting same-sex marriages and commitment ceremonies, even in states like Florida and Arizona.

Click here for the full list of Out Traveler Awards categories and nominees.