The ‘BEST' IS HERE

Best Western Hotels & Resorts is sensitive to the needs of the owners in addition to being competitive and performance focused. The brand has been growing exponentially, especially in the Indian subcontinent. Atul Jain, COO, (India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka) shares the brand’s plans.

- Anupriya Bishnoi

Tell us a little about Best Western Hotels & Resorts and its evolution over the years.

Founded in 1946, Best Western Hotels & Resorts has since developed and evolved into the only hotel membership-based model in the world, currently comprising the hotel owners in North America. That is the reason the brand is quite sensitive to the needs of the owners in addition to being competitive and performance-focused. Starting with the flagship ‘Best Western’, the brand portfolio grew to seven brands by the end of 2014. Beginning 2015, it underwent a brand refresh to broaden the appeal with a contemporary and energetic look, and to distinguish each of its brands and their exceptional offerings by creating more white space between them. Since then, more brands have been added to the portfolio as a response to the evolving trends and business needs of the promoters. Earlier this year, three more brands were added in the brand portfolio with the acquisition of WorldHotels. Today, it has 16 brands and over 4,500 hotels in more than 100 countries.

Can you talk about your expansion plans - India, to be specific?