PHOENIX, Ariz.—The debut of the Best Western Premier Herald Square in Manhattan marks the first Premier-branded hotel to open downtown in a major gateway city. The 17-story, 94-room, new-build hotel was designed with a high-end boutique look and feel and upscale amenities.
“When we decided to build in midtown Manhattan, we knew we wanted to build a high-end boutique hotel,” said Jaz Patel, president of LeTap Group, the hotel’s development and management group. “Best Western was the only brand that offered the flexibility in design we were looking and didn’t require us to build a standard prototype.”
Growing the BW Premier brand to have a presence in key gateway cities is part of the brand’s development strategy. “When we started describing our hotels as Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premier, we knew we wanted our upscale Premier-branded hotels to have a presence in major metropolitan cities,” said Mark Williams, vice president of North American Development for Best Western. “The Premier brand gives Best Western an opportunity to provide developers with an upscale product they can customize in these markets.”
The company has four additional Best Western Premier-branded hotels scheduled to open by the end of 2013 and eight more in the pipeline for 2014.