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segments, some having the ability to drive higher rates than others.“ We had hotels in different levels, but we were positioning them all the same. Once [ it changed ], it had a positive effect. It really was a strategic approach.”
The flood gates didn’ t lift from there, but the dike was breached. Three years later, Best Western launched a boutique concept in Vib and a soft brand, BW Premier Collection. From there, the brands filed in: another boutique concept, a whitelabel economy / midscale brand and, in 2019, the acquisition of WorldHotels, which put Best Western squarely into the luxury space. Today, across all its brands, BWH encompasses some 4,300 hotels worldwide, inclusive of its development
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pipeline, and attracts owners, in part, because it is known to be less prescriptive when it comes to brand standards than some of its competitors.
And though hotel companies formulate and structure new brands, they ostensibly don’ t create them, according to Cuculic, consumers do.“ We recognize what consumer demands are,” he said. Consider Aiden, an upscale, lifestyle conversion brand that BWH launched in 2018 and allows owners to reposition assets into a higher segment. As Cuculic told it,“ Owners recognized they wanted to change platforms and leverage our marketing and sales and technology platforms.” Soon-to-come Aidens include New York Times Square, Palm Beach, Fla., Dallas / Fort Worth, Kansas City and Newark, N. J.
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ACROSS THE BOARD Around this time, BWH identified that it had a business model that allowed it to evolve far from a single-minded hotel company to one able to fill gaps up and down the chain scale. In all its extensions, it trades on what Cuculic refers to as the“ goodwill” set by Best Western, like in SureStay, which allows
The Collector in the Netherlands is part of WorldHotels Crafted. Pictured here is The Cabinet room.
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BWH to leverage its heritage into the premium-economy segment and now has some 450 hotels since the brand’ s 2016 launch.
Boutique brands like Glo and Vib have had their stops and starts, constrained by the current capital market distaste for new construction. In 2019, BWH made an acquisition
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Best Western Patagonia casts a striking pose in Puerto Natales in Chile. |
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42 hotelsmag. com July / August 2025 |