There was a time when I simply didn’t stay at a Best Western. I know, scandalous. It was a bizarre thing too. Yet, not bizarre at all. Just hear me out.
You see, what makes Best Western so incredibly special was once its biggest challenge: the amazingly awesome and eclectic nature of the individual hotels. Problem was, back in the early days of the internet, I never knew what to expect when I checked into a specific hotel. So, I was never able to set my expectations properly. The notion of never knowing what I was in store for freaked me out, albeit in a foolish and irrational way.
To be fair, back then culture liked consistency; every outlet for a brand being the same wherever you go. Fortunately, that notion has gone the way of the floral bed spread. Then, about eight to 10 years ago or thereabouts, Best Western reclassified its member hotels as Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier. For me, that was enough to set the stage for expectations by creating guardrails for what each experience would be like. Plus, customers everywhere thought this was a great move.
That’s the moment I became a fan. The brand’s Achilles heel became its greatest strength – a vibrant and disparate collection of hotels. As a hotel business insider, I can tell you this move was a big deal. Then the relatively new CEO David Kong went into uncharted territory with what was a big gamble, but it paid off and set the stage for an exciting company transformation we’re still seeing play out today.
More recently, it’s become a tradition for Best Western to debut a new brand seemingly every year. Each one with a distinct strategy appealing very specifically to a subset of the travel customer or for the different personalities customers don with each trip’s specific needs. You know, like one trip where you’re alone on business while another is bringing the family someone for holiday, or when you and the spouse need to attend that out of town wedding.
I love that Best Western is developing brands matching the changing lifestyles of the public, with new brands such as GLō and Vīb,which are more design oriented. Like fraternal twins, these brands play to both suburban and urban sensibilities, but are highly rooted in creating experiences.
Best Western also has two ‘collection’ brands, BW Signature Collection and BW Premier Collection. These brands, each geared to a different price point are locally authentic and provide a non-branded hotel experience within the comfort of a major brand. When I stay at one of these hotels, I’m immersed with a sense of place even when I don’t have time to explore the city.
Another space in which Best Western is emerging is extended stay. I’m a huge fan of these types of hotels, even when not in a city for an extended period. Best Western Executive Stay gives me plenty of space to spread out and a lot more room should I have my family with me too. I have teenagers now and space is extremely important!
Overall, as my business and leisure traveler needs have changed, so has Best Western. The company even launched the economy minded brand SureStay in 2016. No matter the price point I’m looking for, or the experience I desire, Best Western has a product I can rely on. I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.