Best Western Hotels: Past, Present, and Future
By Shannon Wheeler
In the industry, Best Western is best known by its registered trademark as The World’s Largest Hotel Chain, and with some 4,000 hotels operating in more than 80 countries, the brand is anything but small scale. Yet in light of its scope, the company’s business philosophy is remarkably personal. Best Western’s franchises are known as “memberships” under a system that provides industry-standard support and services to its hoteliers, yet at an impressively reasonable cost. Below we explore where the brand has been, what changes are underway, and what benefits Best Western brings to developers and its “members.”
The Past
M.K. Guertin founded the then-named Best Western Motels in 1946 with a collection of hotels, all located west of the Mississippi River, forming the first Best Western membership group. Best Western first reached international status in 1964 when a number of Canadian hotels joined the membership. For a brief period in the mid-1960s, hotels in the company’s portfolio located east of the Mississippi were known as Best Eastern Hotels, but that identity was dropped in 1967. By 1977, Best Western had grown large enough to claim title as the “world’s largest,” a banner under which it has flown ever since.
The Present
Best Western’s growth has been spurred in large part by the advantages and latitude granted to its members. A total of 275 member properties were added in 2009, largely in Europe and the U.S. As the company’s portfolio expands, the executive team has embarked on a new initiative to implement brand-wide consumer standards while preserving Best Western’s diverse range of mid-scale hotels. Because membership hotels are independently owned and operated, they have not historically had to conform to strict brand standards regarding the presence of hotel amenities and facilities. Best Western has hence developed a sophisticated ranking process that positions hotels within a hierarchy covering the range of Best Western hotel experiences. This system allows for more clarity for incoming guests, who generally secure lodging arrangements via the Best Western reservation system and want to know how the experience differs between member hotels.
The Future
In April of 2010, Best Western membership representatives approved a three-tier descriptor system to classify Best Western properties. Initially, the tiered system will be based on the AAA diamond designation. To move their properties to the next tier, operators will be required to implement standards defined for the elevated status, which range from offering larger flat-screen guestroom televisions to high-quality on-site dining and meeting facilities. This tiered system will be critical for new developments and property conversions that require property designs and product offerings tailored to specific demand segments in a market.
Best Western recently introduced several newly designed prototype hotels. This effort began with the Best Western Premier, a new hotel designation initiative in Europe. Following the Premier’s success, Best Western launched its Atrea prototype in 2009. In August of 2010, the company announced that the 82-room Best Western Atrea Colonnade Parkway had opened its doors in Woodway, Texas. The hotel is the sixth in the new Atrea brand, an upper-midscale prototype designed to attract business travelers, featuring modern designs with flexible and expandable public spaces. Atrea prototypes come in three categories. The Parallel and Perpendicular styles feature five-story modular designs that include a pool, a breakfast area, a bar, a business center, a fitness facility, a media center, and a boardroom. The Atrea Central comes with a similar design package but with a more compact layout for developers with site size restrictions. The three Atrea prototypes offer approximately 100 rooms and can be constructed with or without meeting space. This flexibility, along with a below-average construction cost between $85,000 and $90,000 per key, makes Atrea an attractive option within the range of upper-midscale competitive brands.
Hotel demand in 2010 has shown an upsurge in many U.S. markets. Nonetheless, budget-oriented corporate and leisure travelers continue to demand value when evaluating lodging options. Best Western operators must maintain focus on their current market mix to be assured that the assigned descriptor will meet their marketing objectives to capture their targeted customers, price point, and operating objectives. But new developers and existing Best Western members can employ the flexibility inherent in the brand’s new prototypes, as well as in its long-standing franchise terms, in order to remain competitive.
Conclusion
Developers have many options to weigh when considering which brand to choose for their hotel, all of which help determine how successful the property will be at capturing demand and commanding strong average rates. Best Western’s conscious evolution of its identity through the decades has resulted in a strong reservation and support system for members, as well as increasingly flexible development options at a very attractive cost. The Atrea prototypes further this evolution, allowing developers considering new construction or conversion to build properties that take full advantage of a market’s attributes and demand segments. Importantly, the company’s growth has relied on the input and support of its members, and this emphasis on foresight and adaptability is likely to remain a cornerstone of the brand for years to come.
Shannon Wheeler is an Associate with the U.S. Hotel Appraisals office in Atlanta. Contact Shannon at (303) 589-5005.