BWH eyes APAC amid plans to 'transform' as global brand

This story first appeared in Business Travel News

HONOLULU – Best Western Hotels has plans to “transform as a global brand” by increasing its footprint outside the U.S. and capitalizing on “fast growth” in Asia Pacific, Best Western executives said during the company’s 2023 annual convention in Honolulu.

BWH is “well positioned” for an “intentional” international expansion to stay competitive, BWH Hotel Group President of International Operations Ron Pohl said, detailing the company’s property gaps in the global market.

“North America has a population of 370 million people and we have approximately 2,500 [North American] hotels. The rest of the world has 7.6 billion people and we’ve got about 1,600 [international] hotels,” Pohl said, highlighting the immense growth opportunity for Best Western internationally.

Riding the recession-free momentum 

 Thanks to a strong year and cautious planning, Best Western’s brands are poised to make the most of the moment.

“We created a budget based on what experts were telling us could occur,” Best Western CEO Larry Cuculic said, which included a hard recession in late spring or early summer. “It didn’t occur,” he continued and, for Best Western Hotels, nearly the opposite occurred, with a solid influx of guests over the summer months. International demand has been “terrific” for Best Western. “Outbound U.S. and North America into Europe has been phenomenal,” he added.

Ron Pohl, BWH Hotel Group president of International Operations

“We stayed on budget, nonetheless, and rode the momentum associated with a great spring and a great summer,” a decision that Cuculic said put BWH in the “best financial position [it] has ever been in.”

One new strategy for the company—especially in international markets—is focused on WorldHotels, which BWH acquired in 2019 and whose strategic growth was delayed by the pandemic. “We need it to be a little bit more competitive,” Pohl said.

WorldHotels previously competed as a distribution channel for hotels, Pohl said. Now, Best Western plans to evolve the brand into the soft brand the company has been working toward. So far, that has included a new website, yet to launch, and new brand logo.

Looking ahead, however, Pohl foresees “potential for WorldHotels [to be] a 400- to 500-hotel brand, in not a long time” and that it will focus on international markets.

In the pipeline

Best Western has 232 in its international pipeline and 37 for WorldHotels, with a number of Asia Pacific regions high on the company’s priority list.

“APAC remains our fastest growing market,” Pohl said, and “growth in India is top of mind.” Currently, Best Western has 50 hotels either open in the region or in the pipeline, Pohl said, including the first Aiden hotel in Goa—a brand portfolio that Best Western plans to double globally by the end of 2023.

India’s “huge population” but “limited number of [hotel] properties” in the midscale tier represents the largest opportunity, Pohl said, especially considering India’s expanding middle class.

BWH’s emphasis on India echoes similar regional interest by Accor Group Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin. In July, Bazin called himself a “big advocate of India” and highlighted the region’s emerging middle class and high expectations around its impending outbound travel.

Best Western remains more focused on accommodating travelers venturing to and within India. The company also has a vested interest in the region given its franchisee demographic. “Our membership is 60% to 65% Indian ownership… So, it's of great interest to them to see us grow in their native country,” Pohl said, but it’s not without some challenges.

“The challenge with India is the financing side of things,” Pohl said, but other APAC markets have shown a lot of appetite for hotel development. He said, “money is not an object,” in many parts of the region.

That seems to be the case for Vietnam, another target for BWH, where there was so much hotel investing and planning that the government placed controls on activities until certain projects were realized. Some of those controls have now been lifted, giving BWH’s pipeline some renewed energy. BHW foresees a strong future in Vietnam’s “growing cities” that already attract corporate and leisure travelers—and a blend of the two.

China, on the other hand, remains “challenging,” Pohl said. “China is in a tough economical time right now, as a country, as a government, as a people… Everybody is holding onto their money to see what is going to happen next,” Pohl said.

Note: BTN accepted subsidized transportation and lodging to attend BWH's 2023 conference. Reporting from that event was not promised to Best Western, nor was coverage influenced by this support.