Phoenix-based Best Western introduced plans for the largest strategic repositioning in the brand’s nearly 70-year-history. This includes a new brand name, advanced property development, dramatically different logos, increased white space between hotel offerings and a new hotel concept. I thought this might be of interest to you from the development standpoint.

Best Western’s newest hotel brand will be called GLō and it will be the only new construction boutique concept in the broad midscale segment. GLō will fill a void in the hotel development landscape by bringing the stylish, boutique hotel trend to secondary and suburban markets, where until now there has clear demand but only cookie-cutter prototypes.

More details and imagery on GLō can be found here, but a few highlights include:

  • GLō is designed as a four-story, 70 room new construction hotel and is forecast to cost $65,000 per key, with ADR in the $90 range in the U.S.
  • GLō will employ a unique centrally loaded, or back-to-back, bathroom design that saves approximately 40 – 50 square feet in construction costs.
  • The GLō architecture and design have elements that speak to the name with the use of signature LED features, including a “Lite Brite” wall which greets guest outside and extends inside behind the glowing welcome desk.
  • GLō was developed in direct response to last year’s successful launch of Best Western’s Vīb hotel concept, one of only two boutique offerings in the upper-midscale segment. Vīb is specifically designed for major urban markets, the brand expects to have 12 Vīb properties signed in North America by the end of 2016 in locations such as Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Cleveland.

Bigger picture, the introduction of GLō is the latest step in a 10-year process to redefine and contemporize the Best Western brand. This includes:

  • $2 billion in property investments in North America and the separation from more than 1,200 underperforming hotels.
  • To better convey the diversity of the more 4,100 hotels worldwide under the brand umbrella, Best Western is changing its name from Best Western International to Best Western Hotels & Resorts (abbreviated as BW).
  • With this change BW is moving away from the iconic blue and gold shield logo that has been in use for more than two decades and introducing dramatically different logos for the Best Western Hotels & Resorts and the Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier hotel offerings.