CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “You’ve got to be closer to the edge than ever to win. That means sometimes you go over the edge, and I don’t mean driving, either,” Dale Earnhardt once remarked. They didn’t call Earnhardt “the Intimidator” for nothing. One of racing’s most decorated drivers, he personified speed, innovation and a singular view of the path to success.
Describing BWH Hotels in the same way is apt. The once-quaint chain of roadside motels known as Best Western has grown awesome in its global reach—4,300 hotels in 100 countries and counting—encompassing everything from economy and extended-stay to international luxury.
With $8.5 billion in international hotel revenue and nearly 300 new properties signed in 2024, BWH Hotels has zoomed through the pack to become the 10th-largest hotel company in the world by number of rooms, according to HOTELS Magazine’s 2024 survey.
The racing analogy was in full speed at BWH Hotels’ Accelerate 2024 national conference in October at the Charlotte Convention Center. The multi-day event was itself a display of speed and innovation: The acceleration theme was used by senior leadership to describe record profit and growth, a surge in soft-branded properties and new frontiers in glamping, international development and technology.
In return, the nearly 3,000 in attendance displayed levels of enthusiasm usually found in venues like the Daytona 500, and for good reason. Through its unique membership model, like the pit crew of a winning team, they would all share in the reward.
“Every day is a race to win,” said Larry Cuculic, president and CEO of BWH Hotels, during a general session. “When you do your night audits, you want the competition in the rearview.”
If its preparations for the near future are any indication, the company, and its now 18 brands, has no plans of slowing down. Fittingly, at the welcome party held inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Earnhardt’s blue-and-yellow 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix was on prominent display. The Intimidator would be proud.
Individuality as Innovation
No two BWH Hotel properties are alike. Designed to reflect their locations and culture, they are manifestations of the people who run them. Rather than tamp down this individuality, the BWH has embraced it wholeheartedly; so long as they meet brand standards of service and quality, they are untethered to any constraints of style or decor.
It’s a reflection of the company’s unique membership model, one where its members are given the leeway and latitude to customize their guest experiences to their specific needs. In 2019, members voted against opening BWH Hotels to outside investors. It would require a two-thirds majority vote to even entertain the idea of going public, but don’t count on it anytime soon. “Best Western is not for sale,” said BWH Hotels Board Chairman Phil Payne.
Nearly $64 million in profits were distributed to members in 2023—$17 million more than in 2022—and through a significant increase in both leisure and business travel, the brand reached the milestone of $1 billion in sales revenue for the first time.
Guest retention and satisfaction has followed suit. BWH Hotels generated $1.75 billion in North American revenue in 2023, up 6.2% over the previous year, and has recorded, it said, 43 consecutive months of year-over-year growth for accommodations booking through its website, BWH.com.
One Planet, One Website
After Best Western’s acquisition of WorldHotels to form BWH Hotels, its domain spread to 4,300 hotels in 100 countries and ranged from economy and extended-stay up through to luxury.
But for years, synchronizing membership rewards and the booking software was a challenge not easily solved.
Through new software from companies like Sabre Hospitality and Mews, hotels across the BWH global system will be bookable through the BWH Hotels website. The added website capabilities are a boon to the numerous independent hotels and soft brands, which will benefit from a robust marketing infrastructure.
A truly global booking directory has long been a goal of Ron Pohl, president of WorldHotels and international operations, BWH Hotels. With the merging of its various loyalty programs, its 60-million members are free to roam the world with full access to their loyalty rewards.
“We have to be very careful that we only connect the brands when it’s important to do so,” said Pohl. “We will merge the loyalty programs next year at some point in time because that gives everybody strength. Customers today prefer to earn their points at the midscale or upper-midscale, then use them in the luxury segment, so it makes sense to merge those programs and strengthen it to as many guest loyalty programs as we have.”
Any fears that an influx of discounted rates could affect profitability have been accounted for—a percentage of all bookings is reimbursed to hoteliers for discounted rates.
Hoteliers are encouraged to open their inventory and are repaid for catering to returning guests.
“We basically turn the money back to our members,” said Cuculic. “It’s an incentive for them to open their inventory, grow the program with us and to pay for that room. The other beauty of it is we have no debt as a company, so we have a balance sheet that supports that type of rich program.”
Finding New Frontiers
“Growth is everything, right?” said Brad LeBlanc, SVP and CDO, BWH Hotels. “To be a fully robust company, we need locations at different price points and in different markets. It’s important that I have a family of brands that can service our members—and our future members’ needs—so if someone is interested in developing upscale, I have a brand for that. If they want economy, I have a brand for that. If they want an independent collection, I have a brand for that.”
BWH Hotels’ aggressive expansion plan is part of an overall strategy to reach all market segments at different price points, while allowing returning guests the freedom to earn and spend their rewards points at each.
That go-forth mentality is embodied in their marketing campaign “Life’s a Trip,” as well as the reliance of targeted content creators on social media to promote their journeys through the eyes of the traveler.
“We often have hotels in places where other brands don’t, so we look for influencers who have that kind of ‘explorer’ mindset looking for those untapped areas, but who are also families, or adventure advocates and influencers themselves,” said Joelle Park, SVP and CMO, BWH Hotels. “For these influencers to be generating this gorgeous content that introduces our hotels in a fresh new way, there’s no more powerful advertiser than guest experience and word-of-mouth.”
One of the biggest announcements to come out of the Accelerate 2024 conference was Zion Wildflower Resort, BWH Hotels entry into the multibillion-dollar glamping industry. Set to open in Zion National Park after the deep Utah winter in March 2025, it marks the latest and most visible foray into experiential accommodations.
Immediately following the announcement, several members expressed interest in adapting their own properties for glamping-style outdoor hotels.
BWH also made its first venture into Vietnam by adding multiple new properties, including three new WorldHotels Residences, like the Noble Crystal Tay Ho with 955 condos in the heart of Hanoi. When completed in December 2026, it will be the first of more WorldHotels-branded residences in Vietnam to come.
Digitizing the Front Desk
To adapt to a new generation of tech-savvy traveler, BWH Hotels announced a partnership with Canary Technologies to create an AI-driven guest management system that will streamline front desk duties while offering alternative revenue streams.
Still in beta testing, once operational the system will utilize guests’ existing messaging technology to customize their stay before and request upgrades, early check-ins or late checkouts, pet-friendly accommodations and more.
The app will help to improve improving front-desk efficiency and ease staff operations, but will still remain supplementary—or even an extension of— the hotel’s in-person hospitality.
“Some of what we’re enabling the hotels to do is adjust tone of voice and make sure it’s brand appropriate,” said Bill Ryan, SVP and CTO, BWH Hotels. “There is an aspect that we can continue to finetune to make sure that it is as closely as possible trying to mirror human aspects. At the same time, we all know AI is not human; it’s technology, so we’ve got [to find] that right balance. AI enables us to become more efficient in our operations and enables the actual people working at the hotels to do what they do best.”
Story contributed by Derek Herscovici.
