PHOENIX—Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced today that its SureStay Hotel Group franchise has surpassed 100 hotels in its North American portfolio. In less than two years since its launch, the brand now has a total of 189 properties open and in its development pipeline worldwide.
Best Western attributes SureStay Hotel Group’s accelerated growth to a number of factors. The brand is more known as a lodging option among travelers and has garnered interest among developers in the upper-economy/lower-midscale market because of its fee structure and access to Best Western’s brand, the company says. In addition, the brand has delivered results—Best Western Rewards revenue contribution for North American SureStay SureStay Plus properties is at 36.1 percent currently; Best Western’s reservations system, LYNX, has delivered 40.2 percent of bookings; and total brand contribution was 62.3 percent year-to-date through February 2018.
“SureStay Hotel Group is one of fastest growing brands in the industry, and it has been remarkable to see the scale we’ve achieved in less than two years since launching,” says David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “Surpassing 100 hotels in North America is an impressive milestone for the brand, and we look forward to continuing this fast-paced momentum well into the future.”
The majority of SureStay Hotel Group applicants are seeking to reposition and strengthen their existing hotel assets, the company says. Best Western conversions also comprise a large portion of SureStay Hotel Group properties. SureStay Hotel Group is comprised of three brands–SureStay Hotel by Best Western (classic economy), SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western (premium economy) and SureStay Collection by Best Western (lower-midscale soft brand). The brand offers a path for hoteliers who are committed to providing a superior guest experience but wish to avoid the high investment costs mandated by traditional brand standards.
“Today’s Best Western is committed to creating innovative, market-leading brands for the hospitality industry, and it’s clear that we’ve done exactly that with the SureStay Hotel Group,” says Ron Pohl, senior vice president and chief operations officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “We carefully designed SureStay brands to offer flexibility to developers, drive business to hotels, and provide superior value and comfort to customers. We’re proud to see these results come to fruition at over 100 hotels in North America and nearly 200 hotels worldwide.”
SureStay properties must maintain a minimum 3.5 TripAdvisor rating and agree to a satisfaction guarantee and unannounced inspections. The brand’s focus is to create consumer relevance and confidence through quality and care and produce developer value by offering fair franchise terms, a competitive fee model, support, and a connection to Best Western’s scale for negotiating power and creating advantageous OTA terms.
