PARIS -- Best Western introduced the first 46 affiliated hotels to
earn membership in the chain's new Best Western Premier category.
Best Western Premier hotels -- to number some 150, primarily in
Europe, within two years -- are designed to offer a level of
amenities, features and services usually associated with upscale
hotels but at more reasonable prices, said company officials.
Tom Higgins, president and chief operating officer of
Phoenix-based Best Western, said, "We hope to [appeal to] a new
market of travelers who believe these services and amenities can
only be had from what we'd call full-service, upscale properties.
But we are midscale, so our pricing structure is still going to be
value-oriented."
Earning Premier status -- equivalent to three- and four-star
standards -- should not result in rate hikes; however, many
applicant properties already fall on the upper end of the chain's
pricing curve.
"We want Best Western to define quality, and then we improve on
that a little bit more with Premier," said Higgins at a recent
launch event for the Derby Alma Hotel in Paris (see Room Key), a
Premier property.
To qualify for Premier status, Best Western hotels must offer 27
amenities or services beyond the brand's 14 BestRequests
standards.
These include concierge service, 24-hour reception, showers,
electronic key cards, cable or satellite TV and free
newspapers.
Also, aspiring properties have to demonstrate what Higgins
termed the "wow factor."
For example, many Premier hotels are housed in quaint, historic
and/or architecturally significant structures.
"When you walk into a Premier, it has to be different from what
clients might expect of a Best Western," Higgins said.
To date, properties in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
and Switzerland have won the new designation.
Best Western plans to grow the category slowly in Europe at
first; future expansion to Asia and the U.S. is possible.
"We started this program in Europe due to the distinctiveness of
the properties we
already have here," said Higgins, noting the Continent will
serve as a laboratory for "what works and what doesn't."
Best Western officials also took pains to stress that Premier is
not a separate brand.
"We've never segmented as our competitors have done, and this is
a major step," said Higgins. "This is a Best Western product, and
we want to stay away from tiering, so we're doing it
cautiously."
The chain also will soft-pedal marketing Premier, eschewing
consumer advertising in favor of promotion among retailers and
others in the industry.
"We're going to be somewhat quiet about it because with the
geopolitical situation you're not going to induce travel where it's
not going to happen anyway," Higgins said.