Benchmark Summary

In August 2026, Scarlet Hotel and The Headland Hotel & Spa led the benchmark, both recording 22.2% valid recommendation coverage. The month was quiet: none of the six tracked brands moved beyond normal month-to-month variation in August 2026, and all six are classified as stable in the current series.

Looking at the full baseline-to-current period (July 2026 to August 2026), several brands show a consistent downward pattern in valid recommendation coverage: The Headland Hotel & Spa moved from 39.4% to 22.2%, Watergate Bay Hotel moved from 27.3% to 16.7%, and Bedruthan Hotel & Spa and St Moritz Hotel each moved to 0.0% from 6.1% and 9.1% respectively. Scarlet Hotel and Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate moved in the opposite direction over the same period, from 15.2% to 22.2% and from 12.1% to 16.7% respectively. None of these baseline-to-current changes were classified as more than normal month-to-month variation, and the quiet August reading leaves this baseline-to-current pattern unchanged rather than reversing it.

The benchmark began with 205 prompt-surface observations in July 2026 and 172 in August 2026, producing 33 and 18 qualified observations respectively after filtering.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI/search surface families with at least one qualified observation: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. In both July and August 2026, observations appeared across three of these families: Copilot, AI Mode, and AI Overviews.

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design, preserving only observations that meet qualification standards.

Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for full details.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio’s analysis of how AI search is recommending Luxury Coastal Hotels and Spa Resorts.

Current Brand Standings

This table is the primary current-month benchmark view, sorted by valid recommendation coverage.

How to Read the Standings

• Presence rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is mentioned.
• Valid recommendation coverage: share of qualified observations where the brand receives a valid recommendation.
• Top-three rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is recommended in the top three positions.
• Rank-one rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is recommended first.
• Net sentiment: difference between positive and negative mentions divided by total mentions.

For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.

Recommendation Coverage Movement

The categories below describe each brand's movement classification.

Stable: All Six Brands

Watergate Bay Hotel

Watergate Bay Hotel recorded 33.3% presence, 16.7% valid recommendation coverage, an 11.1% top-three rate, a 0.0% rank-one rate, and 0.8 net sentiment in August 2026. Its valid recommendation coverage moved from 27.3% in July 2026 to 16.7% in August 2026. This movement remained within normal month-to-month variation.

Scarlet Hotel records 22.2% valid recommendation coverage, while Watergate Bay Hotel stands at 16.7%. More importantly for recommendation position, Scarlet Hotel records a 5.6% rank-one rate and Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate records 11.1%, while Watergate Bay Hotel stands at 0.0%. The issue is therefore not simply whether Watergate Bay Hotel appears in relevant AI responses: its 33.3% presence is not currently converting into first-position recommendation in the qualified August observations. The current benchmark does not establish the cause of that gap, making it the clearest area requiring investigation.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts, recommendation situations, competitor attributes, or evidence sources are associated with Watergate Bay Hotel appearing in the category while not converting that presence into rank-one recommendations?

Other tracked brands

Scarlet Hotel moved to 22.2% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026, up from 15.2% in July 2026, and Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate moved to 16.7%, up from 12.1%. The Headland Hotel & Spa moved to 22.2%, down from 39.4%, while St Moritz Hotel and Bedruthan Hotel & Spa each moved to 0.0%, down from 9.1% and 6.1% respectively. None of these movements exceeded normal variation.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. Placement rates reveal where brands appear within AI recommendations. In August 2026, Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate achieved the highest rank-one rate at 11.1%, while Scarlet Hotel led the top-three rate at 16.7%.

Similar coverage levels can still hide different first-position rates. Scarlet Hotel and The Headland Hotel & Spa both recorded 22.2% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026, but Scarlet Hotel achieved a 5.6% rank-one rate while The Headland Hotel & Spa recorded 0.0%. Similar coverage levels hide very different first-position strength.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

In both months, all qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation class.

The current public series measures brand recommendation discovery only and does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

New measurements are added to the same report. The first comparable month is Baseline.

Evidence and Source Layer

The benchmark is built from prompt-level observations that retain the query, AI/search surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and, where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that the source caused the recommendation.

Scope Boundaries

This public benchmark does not measure:

• Market share or sales attribution
• Every possible AI response or surface
• Organic-search ranking positions
• Social mention volume
• Private or sponsored channels
• Causality from a metric movement alone

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index tracks how often brands appear and are recommended across major AI and search surfaces, providing an industry-level view of AI-driven discovery for buyers. To understand the basis for brand-level rankings and movement classifications, readers can consult:

• AI Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions
• AI Market Discovery Research Standards
• Modeled AI Authority Value

Get a Company-Level Authority Index

The public industry benchmark shows category-level standings. A company-level Authority Index can go deeper, showing how one brand compares against its category in detail. The public percentage cannot identify the prompts, competitors, or sources causing the result.

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