Can Best Western Really Do Luxury?

Luxury Travel News

The Skift New Luxury column is our weekly column focused on the business of selling luxury travel, the people and companies creating and selling experiences, emerging trends, and the changing consumer habits around the sector.

It's easy to forget that up until a couple of years ago, Accor wasn't really a big player in the world of luxury hospitality. One big acquisition changed all that.

This is a useful reminder that strategies aren't set in stone and worth thinking about when it comes to another mid-market hotel company: Best Western.

Following its purchase of WorldHotels, Best Western will go by a new corporate name, BWH Hotel Group, as it shifts its focus to new segments.

WorldHotels will continue to operate independently but will plug into Best Western's loyalty program and benefit from other economies of scale. Will it work? We'll have to wait and see.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at pw@skift.com or tweet me @paddywhyte.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

7 Looks at Luxury

Best Western’s New Corporate Brand BWH Hotel Group Signals Big Changes: BWH Hotel Group? That’s Best Western’s new corporate identity, the first change in decades and one that is designed to build its new image as a chain that can offer everything from mid-market to luxury.

The Meticulous Detail and Effort Behind the Hotel Bathrobe: A room in a luxury hotel is certainly incomplete without a bathrobe. But beyond satisfying guest expectations, brands are realizing that spiffing up their wraparound options can shower them with extra benefits.

India’s Luxury Hotel Sector Needs an Oyo-Like Disruption, Says Former Oberoi Boss: Thus far, disruptions in the hotel sector in India have occurred largely in the budget and economy segments. Former Oberoi-Trident President Kapil Chopra hopes to change that and take on the legacies with his Postcard Hotels & Resorts. Can he?

Emirates: The Media Company That Happens to Fly Jets Too: When you dig into how much it invests in its in-flight entertainment, Emirates is actually a flying media company. Its investment is hugely passenger-centric, but advertisers certainly don't mind reaching a highly qualified audience.

Skiers Are Venturing Beyond Crowded Paths in Search of Prime Powder: Overtourism is as much of an issue on ski slopes as it is in Venice, Amsterdam, and Dubrovnik. Advances in design and safety equipment are making it possible for skiers to flee the crowds for less-packed snow.

Singapore’s Iconic Raffles Hotel Is Adding a Co-Working Space: Co-working is entering the hotel space more and more, and even going luxe when the historic Raffles Hotel in Singapore reopens later this year, just as we predicted last year.

Bogotá’s Potential in Wellness Tourism Starts With an Amazonian Nut: The cacay nut is a perfect example of how tourists can directly benefit entire countries simply by buying products for their own wellness in cities like Bogotá that help support poorer regions throughout Colombia. Maybe someday being a tourist will become less about being a foreigner and more about being a better global citizen.

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Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte [pw@skift.com] curates the New Luxury newsletter. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday.

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