Vibs from Best Western

BANGKOK Following on from earlier launches in Europe and Canada, Best Western unveiled two new brands in Bangkok last week.
An urban boutique brand known as Vīb is a new-build concept that has designs that the developer must adopt from ground up.
The second brand is a soft fit group of hotels that will carry the tag, BW Premier Collection. They will earn booking fees for Best Western without other charges usually incurred with franchise hotels in BW’s other categories.
“We believe that the stylish design of Vīb combined with the business model and low cost to build will be very appealing to developers and investors throughout Asia. In fact we are delighted to announce that we have signed a deal for the first Vīb to be developed in South Korea,” said Best Western International president & CEO David Kong.
Inside no.6The first Vīb property will be a 148 room new build in Seoul, South Korea. Construction is set to begin later this year.
“The BW Premier Collection offers a compelling proposition to independent hoteliers who want to lessen their reliance on online travel agencies without a long-term commitment. We think the unique pay-for-performance fee structure of the BW Premier Collection will be very attractive to independent hoteliers,” noted Kong.
He estimated that BW’s international pipeline has 290 projects in development.
The group’s pipeline tots up nearly 50 properties in India, China and Indonesia.
Inside no.7.1There are 37 projects representing 6110 rooms in the pipeline in ASEAN, excluding the properties in the Indonesian pipeline, which is also a member of ASEAN.
Best Western claims there are new development opportunities in Bangkok, Sarawak and Shah Alam, Malaysia and Ortigas, Philippines for Vib projects.
Best Western used the Bangkok press conference to reiterate it will continue to expand in emerging travel markets following on from openings in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Mandalay.
The Bhutan property is under construction and should open by November.

sourced:ttrweekly.com