Best Western launches 2 new hotel concepts

After unveiling the new offerings at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, the company recently also hosted an event in Bangkok for international developers and investors to see and learn about the brand’s global development strategy for these two new products.
The Vib concept targets travellers who are seeking innovation, technology and style with an authentic, local flavour offered at a great value.
“We believe that the stylish design of Vib combined with the concept’s business model and low cost to build will be very appealing to developers and investors throughout Asia. In fact, we are delighted to announce that we have signed a deal for the first Vib to be developed in South Korea,” said David Kong, Best Western International president and chief executive officer.
The first Vib to be developed is a 148-room new-construction project in Seoul.
“The Vib project we are developing is in the heart of the central business district of Gangnam, Seoul, and is expected to break ground in the next six months. We believe the central business district’s high density and energy [are] the perfect fit for Vib,” said Best Western South Korea president John Choi.
As for the other new product, the BW Premier Collection, Kong said it “offers a compelling proposition to independent hoteliers who want to lessen their reliance on online travel agencies without a long-term commitment. We think the unique pay-for-performance fee structure of the BW Premier Collection will be very attractive to independent hoteliers.”
In addition to developing the Vib and BW Premier Collection brands, the company says it is focused on continuing to enhance the quality of its hotels globally and maintaining a strong development pipeline for the Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premier brands. Currently Best Western has 290 projects in development worldwide.
“With a history dating back almost 70 years, Best Western has plenty of experience dealing with competitors,” Kong said. “But today, the hotel industry is more competitive than ever before, with a series of local and international hotel groups operating an ever increasing number of brands.
“Essentially, Best Western tackles competition the same way we always have, by providing our guests with the best possible experience. We have always tried to concentrate on the core elements of hospitality, such as comfort, convenience, value for money and providing exemplary service. And nowadays this also includes offering fast and free Wi-Fi in all our hotels.

Right elements
“If you get these elements right, your guests will come back time and again,” he said.
“In recent years we have expanded these core values away from our classic mid-scale product, and into the upscale and luxury sectors with the launch of our Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier products. And we will continue to diversify in the future with several new exciting brand concepts that will be unveiled very soon. But no matter what guest demographic you target, the core values of hospitality never change. If you can get these basics correct, you will stay ahead of the competition.”
Kong said Best Western had in essence stayed true to its core values that got the hotel chain to the strong position in which it finds itself today, providing guests with value for money and the best possible level of service standards, whether they are staying for a single night or two weeks.
In recent years, however, the world has moved into the digital age. In response, the hotel chain has developed a strong online and mobile strategy, with a new website, applications and social-media pages. Its hotels have become more interactive with guests, responding to their comments and feedback via TripAdvisor and other sites.
Kong said that while there had been a shift to intra-Asian travel in recent years, Europe and the United States were clearly still huge source markets for Asia. The Pacific Asia Travel Association recently released a forecast that said European markets would generate close to 50 million arrivals into the Asia-Pacific region annually by 2019. The North American contribution would be less than that, but would remain high.
According to the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation, total international arrivals to Asia and the Pacific increased by 5 per cent, or 13 million, to 263 million last year. And expenditure from the United States, the second-largest outbound market in the world, grew by 6 per cent.
Also noteworthy is the rebound of outbound spending of France (up 11 per cent), Italy (6 per cent) and the United Kingdom (4 per cent) last year. These figures prove that these so-called traditional markets, which some people predicted would go into decline, are coming back strongly.
Kong said the approaching Asean Economic Community was another factor.
“The AEC clearly provides a massive opportunity for Southeast Asia, and the companies that operate within the region. But I would expect the impact of the AEC to be more gradual than some people expect. There are still many issues that have the potential to evolve considerably, such as combined visa policies, freedom of movement for all Asean citizens, the aviation ‘open skies’ agreement and, eventually, even perhaps a single currency.
“Of course we are still quite a long way from achieving some of these things, but progress is being made. For Best Western, we are already seeing a rise in guests from Asean countries.
For example, in our Bangkok hotels we are seeing a rise in the number of guests from countries like Malaysia or Singapore, coming to Bangkok for weekend breaks.”