HONOLULU—New name, new logos, new brand.
Best Western’s annual conference, this year in Honolulu, was the venue for several big brand announcements for the 69-year-old membership organization that has more than 4,100 properties in more than 100 countries.
Glo: Suburban boutique brand
Generating the most buzz at this year’s conference was Best Western’s announcement of its new-construction suburban upper-midscale boutique hotel brand, Glo.
“It’s true there are a lot of boutique and lifestyle brands,” President and CEO David Kong said, “but what’s interesting is nobody has an affordable boutique concept in the midscale segment. We believe there is a huge market for a fresh and hip concept for the broad midscale segment.”
Glo is designed to cost approximately $65,000 per key to develop, Kong said, and the modular, contemporary design incorporates space-saving elements, like center-loaded guestroom bathrooms and multifunctional public spaces.
Kong said the company is targeting secondary markets in high-population-density areas in North America, competing with the likes of La Quinta, Holiday Inn Express and Hampton—brands Kong said “tend to be cookie-cutter and look the same; some may say boring.”
Average daily rate is projected to be in the $90 range, Kong said.
The brand is a companion to the company’s Vib upper-midscale boutique brand the company launched last year.
“The success of Vib is helping us connect with developers and travelers that previously have not considered us,” Kong said. “So we have been considering if there are other ways to leverage this success.”
Vib has seven signed deals and 11 deals in progress, said Ron Pohl, senior VP of brand management and member services for Best Western. He said that while both Vib and Glo are design-forward and intended to appeal to today’s mindset of traveler, key differences will set them apart. Vib is planned for high-density urban markets and will rely on a lot of foot traffic, particularly in the social public spaces. Glo, on the other hand, is for secondary markets, what Kong called “the urban suburb,” or a bustling suburban market where people want to try something new and different.
Name, logo changes
As the company embarks on its 70th anniversary next year, it also is proposing a name change and new logos for its members to vote on.
On the name front, “Best Western Hotels & Resorts” replaces “Best Western International.”
“We have been international for 30 years; people know this about us,” said Dorothy Dowling, senior VP of marketing and sales. “What’s not known is that we have wonderful resort locations here and around the world. They enhance our brand image as well.”
All of the proposed logos—for the core company brand and for Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier—were designed to be scalable and adaptable for hotel signage, collateral and digital platforms, Kong said. They draw on the iconic blue and red colors from the current logo, which has been around for more than 20 years, but each incorporates unique shapes and design elements.
“Our current logo has served us very well,” Kong said. “But it doesn’t meet the business requirements of today and tomorrow. Our logo needs to appear contemporary and relevant, especially to attract Generation X and millennial travelers. We need to signal that something exciting is happening in our brand.”
If the proposed brand and logo changes pass a membership vote, Dowling said the company’s goal is to have 1,000 properties in the United States and Canada add the new signage by the end of May in order to launch a television ad campaign for the crucial summer travel season.
Members will be able to work with a sign company to quote prices on sign changes should the ballot pass, and Kong said the company will offer a zero-interest incentive program to encourage quick adoption.
“Depending on the property and location, cost could range from $20,000 to $80,000,” Kong said about the signage changes that will come with new logos. “We have estimated that between what the brand will spend and what our members will spend, it’ll be close to $200 million in investment in North America.”
More updates
In addition to the name and logo changes and brand launch, Best Western also updated its members on other proposed changes that will be up for voting.
One of the biggest is a change to the company’s 10-mile impact radius area. Hotels have a member market area that excludes any other Best Western properties from that radius. Additionally, each property has an impact radius area of 10 miles, whereby the company can take applications for new Best Western-branded properties in that area, but current members in the area are allowed to request an impact report.
Pohl said the company is proposing to make that impact radius area smaller in major urban areas to allow for necessary development.
“We’re at a clear disadvantage in cities like Chicago, New York City and Dallas compared to the competition,” he said. “We’re losing development activity in those markets. Growth in our hotel inventory is critical to our long-term success.”
Pohl said he’d like to grow the company’s North American footprint to 2,500 hotels in the next few years. Right now the North American pipeline sits at 214 hotels, of which 123 are Best Western Plus and 20 are Best Western Premier. Nearly 70% of the pipeline is new construction, he said.