A superior room at The One50 Hotel, BW Signature Collection in Miami. |
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that at the time may not have stopped people in their tracks, but, to hear it from Pohl, was pivotal— the missing piece to fill in the blanks of upper-upscale and luxury. WorldHotels, which started in Europe and has a five-decade legacy, at the time consisted of 300 hotels, tiered in three separate categories: WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite and WorldHotels Distinctive. BWH added a fourth, WorldHotels Crafted, for boutique properties, a level up from Aiden, Pohl explained. One of these is Zion Wildflower Resort, a glamping property that opened in March in Utah’ s Zion National Park.
“ We recognize that to compete long term, you must have representation in all segments of the business,” Pohl said. WorldHotels is an affiliation brand composed of independent hotels. It still is, but that is changing, Pohl said. There are currently six hardbranded WorldHotels, such as The Majestic Ponta Negra Beach Hotel, WorldHotels Elite, in Brazil.“ It’ s a great opportunity for customers to
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start to recognize the brand,” Pohl said.
BWH has also stepped into the arena of branded residences through WorldHotels, another piece that moves it further on par with its peer set. It recently signed its seventh residence with projects under construction in Vietnam, Costa Rica, the Middle East, and as small as 80-unit condos up to more than 2,000.
Hotel companies are staunchly focused on all regions for growth opportunities, but the Middle East is a hotbed for brand expansion— not in the least because of bold endeavors like Saudi Arabia’ s Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify its economy. At the recent Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, BWH inked eight new deals to complement its existing 19 hotels in the region. Though Saudi Arabia might conjure images of glitz and glamor, exotic cars and dazzling real estate, three of the projects BWH signed were for SureStay properties in Jeddah and Madinah.“ The one difference is that they have the money to do it,” Pohl said.“ It’ s not a
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matter of financing.” Coupled with, as Cuculic pointed out, government supporting growth.
SOLDIER MENTALITY Sitting on Cuculic’ s bookcase, in his office in Phoenix at BWH’ s headquarters, is“ The History of Modern Warfare.” Cuculic resists the notion that his entire leadership style is pulled from his military experience, but it’ s also ineluctable.“ I don’ t do it intentionally, but it happens,” he said. His leadership ethos is pretty simple, he said: Lead with purpose, honesty and integrity and take care of people. Like a general, Cuculic watches out for his troops. At member meetings, he makes it a point to eat last.
If Cuculic is the general, Pohl is his loyal lieutenant general. He looks the part: An avid runner, cyclist, he completed The Spartan Trifecta recently— a series of three endurance races in one year. His experience is peerless, having worked in many facets of the hotel industry, working at a management company and at one point as a general manager. He’ s been on the brand side now with BWH for 18 years.
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For someone who travels for a living, staying in tip-top shape is key.“ It does affect how well you can work when you’ re in different time zones,” he said.
BWH doesn’ t answer to shareholders; it serves its members. Funds are used to support hotels through technology and sales and marketing. In late 2024, BWH hired Bill Ryan as its CTO to spearhead the company’ s digtal transformation to meet guest expectations. BWH is also working on merging WorldHotels Rewards and Best Western Rewards.
Last year, BWH launched a new marketing campaign, punchy, authentic spots set to a cover of“ The Weight,” by The Band. In one, a voice-over says:“ Today, we accomplished nothing. I mean it— not a thing. And it was kinda everything … Life’ s a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western.”
“ People work hard for their dollars,” Cuculic said.“ When they travel, you want to appreciate them— be gracious when they enter through the entirety of the stay. That’ s what Best Western stands for.”
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44 hotelsmag. com July / August 2025 |